Chicago Bulls: How former players are performing in 2018 NBA Playoffs

5. Marco Belinelli (Philadelphia 76ers)

The Bulls acquired Marco Belinelli prior to the start of the 2012-13 campaign, the season in which Derrick Rose sat out due to a torn ACL he sustained during the opening round of the playoffs. In his lone season with the Bulls, Belinelli compiled averages of 9.6 points and 2.0 assists per contest on slash lines of .395/.357/.839.

Since that time, Belinelli has played on five different teams, including the San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta Hawks and now as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. After 52 games with the Hawks this year, Belinelli was considered an afterthought for the most part.

However, in 28 appearances for the Sixers during the regular season, Belinelli averaged 13.6 points per contest on 49.5 percent shooting from the field. While the scoring output was impressive in those 28 contests, Belinelli has elevated his game in the playoffs.

Not only has he reached the 20-point plateau in two of the four games he’s played in, Belinelli is also averaging 18.0 points and 2.3 assists per outing on 48 percent shooting and 40.7 percent from 3-point range. He is the team’s fifth-leading scorer and it should also be noted that he putting up these numbers coming off the bench.

Although much of the discussion around Philadelphia’s success so far in the postseason has centered on Rookie of the Year candidate Ben Simmons and the return of Joel Embiid, Belinelli has also played a key role in the Sixers being on the brink of advancing to the second round of the playoffs.

In this scenario, I guess it’s safe to say that some things get better with time.