C.J. Watson says he wasn’t treated well at Chicago Bulls – NBA Update
C.J. Watson was an integral part of the Chicago Bulls bench mob, which played such a pivotal role in propelling the windy city franchise the best regular season record in the league for two seasons running.
He was assigned the starter duties after Derrick Rose, the Bulls’ franchise player, tore his ACL in the first game of the first round playoffs series against the Philadelphia 76ers, but now that he looks back at that series, he doesn’t recollect any
fond memories.
Watson managed 7.3 points and 5.5 assists during that stretch, but made a crucial mistake in Game – 5 of the series. It was a one point game, advantage Phillies, and Watson had the ball in his hands with seconds remaining. With
7 seconds to go, the one guard passed the ball to Omer Asik, who was fouled immediately and the reserve centre went on to miss both the free throws. Bulls lost by one point that night and went on to be eliminated in the first round.
Considering that he is an 81 percent shooter and Asik was at 45 percent that was a definite error in judgement on part of the point guard, but the backlash he faced was unmerited, so much so that Watson never wanted to sign back
with the Bulls once he became a free agent this off season;
"The season ended how it ended," he said on Saturday when the Nets took on the Bulls at the United Center. "I wasn't sorry about that. I knew I could do better. It was a critical mistake maybe at the time but I didn't think it
was. I just thought I got mistreated but it is what it is."
With Watson, the Bulls lost an important player, whose number were not all indicative of the influence he had on the court. Watson is a brilliant ball handler and his defensive acumen is exceptional. The Nets have a fair idea of
that and their coach Avery Johnson was all praise for his first reserve, who is averaging 7.1 points and 2 assists so far;
"As a coaching staff, we had to figure out exactly how we wanted to use him," Brooklyn Nets coach Avery Johnson said. "He's back to playing C.J. Watson defense, he's shooting the ball better. We know some of his favorite spots
now where he likes to operate. He and Joe Johnson play real well together. He's starting to get into somewhat of a good rhythm."
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