It looked like the former Piston went to Detroit during the all star break to bring his energy to Chicago.  Was Big Ben struggling before on purpose to get Paxson to believe Ben needed that extra player? Or did he simply come back. He was a power center before Sheed came to Detroit.

G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG

73 73 39.4 .481 .167 .450 4.0 11.4 15.4 1.6 1.4 3.2 1.21 2.50 6.9

He had a great season without Sheed, but why not the same in Chicago.

Now his stats in Chicago.

G GS MPG FG% 3p%
FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG

 

52 52 33.8 .435 .333 .410 3.9 6.4 10.3 2.1 1.4 2.1 1.31 2.00 6.1

In orange, are the only highs from this year to that year. Both 3 point % and assists per game aren't what he's known for. You could argue his age, but he's still capable of getting 12 rebounds a game and 3 blocks. he could even avarage 9 points a game, if he'd not taken a slump. After his headband incident, Big Ben took his game to a BIG level.

Here is a strong4 game stretch.

 

December 11 vs. Indiana: 10 points 13 rebounds 2-3FT

December 13 vs. Seattle: 15 points 7-12 shooting 20 rebounds 5 blocks 2 steals

December 15 vs. Milwaukee: 10 points 27 rebounds 3 blocks 3 steals 6 assists 5-8 shooting

December 16 vs Atlanta: 6 points 15 rebounds 8 assists

These stats prove that he is capable of playing good for a good amount of time. But then Big Ben wasn't being all that big. He had two games with 2 boards and 2 with 3 boards. Has that Cleveland game brought the true Big Ben out of that slump? Sure looked like it, but we will all find out Sunday morning at the Palace...