Rising Stars Report Card: Grading the Young Chicago Bulls

Cristiano Felicio

Rookie Cristiano Felicio may have gone undrafted, but since being acquired by the team, he has shown a high basketball IQ in the limited amount of time he’s seen game action, and is making the case that he belongs in the future plans of the Bulls.

Strengths

Despite what many called early on an NBA big man with raw talent and abilities, CFelicio is starting to get the feel for the game and is helping to solidify the squad’s secondary lineup in the absence of Joakim Noah. Some even questioned whether the 6’10” Felicio could get up and down the court with enough speed and quickness to compete at the professional level. This is not proving to be a problem for the rookie.

Felicio has shown a knack for rolling to the basket on cuts for buckets, getting after rebounds and bullying his opponents with his low-post game. He packages all of this together with an understanding of team defense and a nice mid-range jump shot.

Weaknesses

The first-year player hasn’t had as much exposure as Bobby Portis, but down the stretch, Felicio has shown a ton of growth. It was unclear when he first started getting playing time how efficient he could be on the offensive end. At times, he shows a skill set comparable to the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon. That’s pretty good company to have for the big man. There are times where Felicio comes off as a rookie learning the ropes as he goes, but this isn’t so much a concern as it is sign of hope that we, as fans, should have greater understanding and patience.

Final Grade

B+

Next: Cameron Bairstow