I'm talking about the guy on the left. That man is Bulls forward Andres Nocioni. Argentina has produced a number of other talented players that are in the NBA, such as Carlos Delfino (Toronto Raptors), Walter Herrmann (Charlotte Bobcats), Luis Scola (Houston Rockets), and Fabricio Oberto (San Antonio Spurs). Manu Ginobli and Andres Nocioni are the two knock-around guys of Argentina. Playing physical is a very big part of both of their games. Both have a similar style of play. Manu would win the 'driving the lane' battle, but Andres would win the 'shooting' battle. But being a Bulls fan, I have come to love Andres Nocioni. I love him so much that I am writing a blog entry solely on him.Nocioni was picked up by the Chicago Bulls at the start of the 2004-2005 season, which was right after Argentina won the gold in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. No one knew how good he would be in the NBA, but he began playing as if he was a veteran. He even began to make a name for himself among the NBA. Everyone refers to this Nocioni as someone you hate to play against, but someone who'd you love to have on your team. There's no doubt that this guy is a human charge machine. If there was an NBA Best Actor Award, it would easily go to Andres Nocioni. This guy gets laid out more than Rex Grossman, but he does it willingly. Rex Grossman just sucks.
But anyways...I realized that most teams have at least two primary defensive stoppers: one to protect the lane and one to frustrate the opposing team. San Antonio has Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen, Phoenix has Amare Stoudamire and Raja Bell, and the Pacers have...oh wait, nevermind. Chicago's down low enforcer is obviously Ben Wallace. Andres Nocioni fits the description of the second defensive stopper. Even though he is not in the starting line-up, Nocioni is one of the guys on the bench that comes into the game to charge up the defense, and even the offense. At only 6'7", he was the team's 3rd leading rebounding. He averaged 5.7 boards while coming off the bench. Offensively, he averaged 14.1 points while shooting a .467 field goal percentage and a .383 3-point percentage.
In the 2006 playoffs, Nocioni was a firecracker averaging 22.3 points in 38.3 minutes. Unfortunately, the Bulls only lasted 6 games. In the 2007 playoffs, Nocioni averaged only 8.8 points in 19.7 minutes. I know that was a significant drop, but at least the Bulls made it to the second round. I believe his limited playing time was due to his right foot injury. During the 2006-2007 regular season, he only played in 53 games due to plantar fasciitis. His injury still remains, which is why he skipped out on the 2007 FIBA World Championships. After receiving a new 38 million dollar 5-year deal, Nocioni is glad to be returning to Chicago. If Chicago would not have signed Nocioni, he would likely be on the Memphis Grizzlies. Nocioni, Chicago, and John Paxson's wallet is hoping that Nocioni will make a healthy recovery just in time for the beginning of the 2007-2008 season.
In my opinion, Nocioni possesses as Kukoc-esque way of playing basketball. He may not have the same moves as Kukoc, but he is an international sensation that has already made a mark on the city of Chicago. Nocioni will continue to shoot well, grad rebounds, draw charges, and piss off opposing players. We can only hope that the hard-nosed Nocioni will continue his game IMPROVEMENT (AHH! It's the secret word!) and will have to do a better job of protecting his family jewels because they will be taking another beating this year.
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