Cristiano Felicio Season Averages:
Cristiano Felicio, the undrafted big man out of Brazil, signed a new four-year deal with the Bulls in the offseason of 2017 after showing promise and flashes as a high-energy big man off the bench in his first two years with the club. With the change in roster and play style as well as heightened expectations, Felicio found himself struggling to start off the year on the right note, finding a difficult time of staying on the court and spending time working on his game with the Windy City Bulls in the G-League.
His rebounding, blocks and steals numbers all went down from last season, but he did increase his field goal and free throw percentages, and continued to work hard through the end of the season. In the latter part of the year, once the Bulls had decided to give younger players minutes, Felicio got a chance to play bigger minutes and he managed to find a rhythm, ending the season with three straight games of double figure scoring. Let’s take a look at some of Felicio’s brighter moments this season:
March 30, AT Orlando Magic (Bulls 90, Magic 82)
Getting a chance for bigger minutes down the stretch of the season with a shorthanded Bulls squad, Felicio had maybe his best game of the year, dominating the boards and providing a strong inside presence for the team. His energy level was high and the frontcourt from the Magic – which included Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and lottery pick Jonathan Isaac – could not keep Felicio off the glass. Felicio grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds (6 of those offensive) to be a major factor in the Bulls win on the road in Orlando, a win that snapped a 7-game losing streak for the banged-up Bulls.
Felicio stat line: 8 points (4-8 FG), 16 rebounds, 1 assist
March 19, AT New York Knicks (Knicks 110, Bulls 92)
In a game in which the Bulls couldn’t get much going at all, Felicio was a bright spot for the team, scoring a career-high 17 points on an ultra-efficient 10 shots. He also pitched in perhaps his own personal play of the year, when he stopped an Emmanuel Mudiay fast break with a nasty chasedown block.
Felicio stat line: 17 points (8-10 FG), 6 rebounds, 1 nasty block