Chicago Bulls Midseason Grades: Butler shines, Wade and Rondo shrug

Nikola Mirotic

Stats: 22.8 minutes, 9.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 38.5 FG%, 30.1 3PT%, 76.3 FT%

Grade: F

Mr. Inconsistency himself will find no love in this midseason report card.

Mirotic came over to the Bulls from Europe with an enviable reputation. He had multiple MVPs, he had a sweet shooting stroke, and he was already an established player that was going to start contributing right away for the Bulls.

If only that were true.

Mirotic had an unbelievable January during his first season that earned him rookie of the month honors and a third place finish for the Rookie of the Year. To date, it’s still the most consistent stretch that we’ve seen from him.

These are the stats (per 100 possessions where applicable) in which Mirotic is averaging a career low: points, offensive rating, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, free throw attempts, free throw percentage, true shooting percentage, win shares, and box plus minus.

I don’t want to hear about how he needs the ball in his hands or how he’s so much better off the dribble. Just because Mirotic is better in a playmaking role doesn’t mean that it makes the Bulls better. His role has been made clear, and Niko has played almost 200 NBA games. He needs to figure out a way to play reliably, or he’s not going to like the way restricted free agency goes.