Early in his first rotational stint Wednesday night, Chandler Hutchison received a pass from Denzel Valentine on the wing.
With no defender near him, Hutchison prepared to shoot the open 3-pointer. As the nearest defender started to close out, Hutchison pump-faked, put the ball on the floor with two dribbles and attacked the rim, drawing a foul.
This is a young player beginning to understand his strengths and weaknesses.
Hutchison didn’t need to miss all three of his 3-point attempts to prove shooting isn’t currently a strength. Attacking the rim is.
And it’s a big reason why Hutchison continued his solid play since returning from his shoulder injury with a career-high 21 points against the Pacers. Throw out Hutchison’s 3-point misses and the second-year forward sank 10 of 11 shots.
“Every game, I try to take something from it and try to improve. Offensively, I feel the best is yet to come. I just have to stay aggressive,” Hutchison said. “I put in a lot of work. Eventually, I’m going to get there.”
If it looks like Hutchison is a different, more confident player since he returned from his lengthy absence to that shoulder injury, it’s because he is. And this stems from a newfound maturity.
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“[My confidence] is at a level to where I’m OK with making mistakes. I found a comfort with just playing hard. I pride myself with giving effort. I know I’m going to be a positive on the floor every time I do that,” he said. “If I score, I score. If I don’t, opportunities will come later.”
Coach Jim Boylen said Hutchison is becoming the player the Bulls envisioned when they drafted him in the first round — a driver, slasher and competitive defender able to guard multiple positions. That skill placed him on guard Victor Oladipo as the Pacers’ All-Star, playing his first game in over a year, rose to sink a deep game-tying 3-pointer in the waning seconds of regulation.
The Pacers eventually prevailed in overtime. And befitting Hutchison’s quest to improve, he looked inward.
“My feet were above the 3-point line. I just gotta be aware that he’s an elite player. I felt I gave a pretty good contest. But I have to make him put it down in that situation. The 3 is the only thing that can tie,” Hutchison said. “I’m going to learn from it and move on.”
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