The Nocioni Effect

It has become clear to most people familiar with the Bulls and the NBA that Andres Nocioni gets abused by Richard Jefferson every time they match up. While that may have been a factor in Noce's terrible game last night, he has been playing inconsistently all year long. There are 4 years left on his deal and it is not a small contract. Not to say that there aren't times (once, maybe twice a week tops) that Noce brings a spark off the bench energy-wise or has a hot shooting night. But for an average of over $7 million a year? Take a look at his contributions last night, via Blogabull:

First half:

Enter the Noc: 23-20 Bucks, 10:31 2nd quarter (Richard Jefferson enters as
well)
Exit the Noc: 48-35 Bucks, 2:51 2nd quarter
Noc? 7:40 min, 3 Fouls, 0-0FG, 1Reb. Jefferson scores 10 points

Second half:

Enter the Noc!: Start of the 4th quarter, 76-72 Bucks
Exit the Noc, with clenched fists: 87-75 Bucks 7:32 4th quarter
Noc's hair? 4:28 min, 0-1FG, 1pt, 2 TOs

That is just horrendous. On the one hand, at least he wasn't taking a lot of ill-advised shots, but if he isn't going to contribute offensively, he has to at least do something on defense. While Noce traditionally plays defense with a ferocious (and extremely obnoxious to other teams) energy, he is not truly a great defender. He rarely can play his man straight up. The only time he has limited success is when he annoys the player he's covering to such an extent that it takes the player out of his game. In terms of pure defense though, he is sorely lacking. So what is he bringing to the Bulls right now? Well last night it consisted of a -18 for his team. That's a long contract Pax, think you can move this guy?