Bright Spot: Felicio Unleashed
Cristiano Felicio #NBAVote
The Brazilian fan favorite locked down the first double double of his career on Friday, and forever captured the hearts of Bulls fans around the globe. That last part might be an exaggeration, but this guy is legitimately beloved, and he shined bright in his 22 minutes.
https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/814971368982904832
He proved to be much more capable of handling the Pacers rangy front court than Robin Lopez (who only got 18 minutes). Not only that, but Felicio was working his butt off on the offensive end as well. We already knew that he was the hardest rim-roller on the team, but that was especially true on Friday.
When Cris rolls to the rim, he commits to it and takes defenders with him, which opens the floor tremendously for Wade or Butler to make plays in isolation or for the ball to find an open shooter (or an open Niko) on the perimeter. Lopez, and even Taj Gibson to an extent, wasn’t getting that kind of response on Friday.
A lineup of Wade-Butler-McDermott-Mirotic-Felicio could actually achieve some potency on offense out of the pick-and-roll, but its seen only 6.7 minutes this season, per NBAwowy. Fred seems committed to keeping a traditional point guard on the floor at all times, which is understandable. A lineup like this would have serious issues defensively, as fascinating as it might be on the other end.