In the first quarter of Richard Hamilton’s debut, he curled off a Joakim Noah screen, rose for a jumper and — when Noah’s defender lunged at him — deftly dumped a pass to Noah, who got fouled on a dunk attempt.
“I told Noah and (Carlos) Boozer, ‘If you hit my guy, your guy is going to help and I’m going to make the pass,'” Hamilton said. “When you get your bigs easy baskets and get them flowing, they want to set screens. I want to reward the bigs.”
In another sequence, Hamilton sprinted ahead of Derrick Rose on a fast break, received a crafty bounce pass and converted a reverse layup.
“Sometimes I looked and he was beating me up the floor,” Rose said. “To have two guys who can run like that and two good shooters, that opens up the game.
“I just have to knock down open shots now. When he comes off pick-and-roll, it makes the game easy. They have to double-team him. Joakim and Boozer have slips, easy layups or dunks or get fouled. That’s what we need, easy baskets for this team.”
One game doesn’t count for everything, particularly an exhibition. Yet the way Hamilton seamlessly has made his transition from a toxic situation in Detroit to a title-seeking one in Chicago bodes well for the future.
“His ability to shoot and run the floor and move will enable us to have space for Derrick and the other guys,” general manager Gar Forman said. “But the biggest thing that has been encouraging to me watching practice is that he seems to fit in with our guys. He fits in on the floor and in the locker room. That’s so important to us because the chemistry on this team has been really special.”
Winning, of course, is the ultimate chemistry creator. But the way Hamilton plays — responsible defensively, unselfish offensively — is a championship style.
“My style of play is not dominating the ball,” Hamilton said. “I move, cut, try to make good decisions. That makes everybody’s job easier.
“It’s still early. We have a long way to go. We just hope to get better, learn each other every day and good things can happen.”
Twitter @kcjhoop
