2012-2013 Lakers in Review #3: Chris Duhon is Still Terrible!

Much like at Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness, Hack-a-Shaq will have end of the year reviews.

Same rules apply as grades are handed out according to pre-season expectations vs. actual production. 


Point Guard: Chris Duhon

2.9 PPG, 2.9 APG, 1.5 RPG, 1.0 WS, .056 WS/48 on 38% shooting and 36% shooting from three point range. Grade: F

2012-2013 in brief: A throw-in player in the massive 4-team trade that sent Andrew Bynum packing and brought an injured Dwight Howard to the Lakers, Duhon was just as bad with the Lakers as he was in Orlando, receiving playing time thanks to injuries to Steve Nash and Steve Blake.  

2014 status: 1 year left on his contract, earning 3.75 million with 1.5 million guaranteed if waived by June 30th, 2013. 

******

There isn't much to say about Chris Duhon. He was awful everywhere he went save for the team that drafted him (Chicago Bulls). This year was no different, as he frequently got burned defensively and didn't bother making up for it offensively, often times making an awful decision in the process, be it a bad pass that led to a turnover or a bad shot attempt.

In his 46 games played this season, Duhon's impact was seen on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, barely getting a .056 WS/48, well below the league average of .100 WS/48. He could do very little right in his 18 minutes per game, not even Free Throws, which apparently aren't so "free" for Duhon, since he had a worse percentage (46.2%) from the "charity" stripe than notable Hack-a-Shaq victim Dwight Howard (49.2%). Let me remind you that Duhon is a point guard and not a physically dominant center with hands that are too big for his own good. A point guard, everybody. 

Why is Chris so happy? He found a legal way to steal money.

Simply stated, nothing went right for Duhon this past season, only getting playing time because of semi-serious injuries to fellow Point Guards Steve Nash and Steve Blake. Yeah, Duhon had his moments, like a string of three pointers made in a row, or a nice pass between a couple of defenders. But for every nice play Duhon made, he made two boneheaded ones to make up for it; this not counting his lackluster defensive play, which largely contributed to the Lakers' falling way behind, really early. 

But, of course, Duhon had to play as the injury bug haunted the Lakers (it has since been passed on to the Dodgers). After everyone thought Nash, Blake, Jodie Meeks and Kobe Bryant would be healthy enough to man the two guard positions for the rest of the year, all four of them ended up going down with an injury in the final stretch of the season, leaving the Lakers to try to fend off the San Antonio Spurs with Duhon, Darius Morris and...D-League MVP Andrew Goudelock, who only played one regular season game for a total of 6 minutes, accumulating nothing but one rebound. 

But at least Goudelock and Morris really stepped up in the playoffs, both of them averaging double digits in points scored per game. Somehow, Chris Duhon managed to get worse in the post season, despite playing 34 minutes per game. 


And yet, somehow, Duhon might actually still be in a Laker uniform next season, with Mitch Kupchak likely to be paranoid about injuries (rightfully so), Duhon seems to be entrenched on the bench, at least until Kobe, Meeks and the Steve's prove to be healthy.