Is Andres Nocioni the new Hines Ward of the NBA?  Hines has proven to be a fantastic blocker for a wideout, and is revered greatly by the passionate Steeler Nation fans.  But ask most any other team, and they will tell you they believe Hines takes some cheap shots, and would love to get a good lick on him. 

You cannot help but notice the similarities to Nocioni.  During the preseason game against the Bucs and the home opener against the Bucs, Nocioni got under Richard Jefferson's skin.  In the preseason game, Derrick Rose sufferred a minor injury on a hard foul from Jefferson.  On a later play in the same game, Jefferson took exception to a hard foul by Nocioni, which he thought was retaliation.  Mike McGraw of the Chicago Daily Herald explains it best:

 

Later in the first half, though, Jefferson drove to the basket and was chopped across the arms by Bulls forward Andres Nocioni. This time, tempers flared. Jefferson went back at Nocioni with a chest bump, Kirk Hinrich shoved Jefferson from behind and then Bucks guard Luke Ridnour body-checked Hinrich before order was restored and 3 technical fouls were distributed.

After the game, I asked Jefferson for his take on the incident. Did he think Nocioni's foul was retaliation for the one on Rose? Keep in mind that this conversation was good-natured all the way through. Jefferson was not upset or angry and it was nice to hear a player of his caliber open up.

“How long have you been following the Bulls? What type of player do you think Nocioni is?" Jefferson answered. "Don't ask me a question if you already know the answer."

“You know my take by the question I'm asking," he replied. "I know it's your job to ask questions, but that doesn't mean we have to answer them or we can't ask you questions. You could bait me into saying something stupid or talk trash. We've got to play them first game of the year. But you know the type of player Nocioni is, so let's leave it at that.

“I've never hurt anybody, never been accused of being dirty. Derrick Rose, I went up after the ball, he got fouled. I'm not trying to hurt the young fellow. I'd never disrespect anybody. But Nocioni, can you say the same thing about him?

“I went up after the ball on Rose. I didn't try to knock him down. I didn't try to go after the body. I went up and tried to block it, he fell down. If they want to take that like that's something wrong… I played in almost 80 playoff games in my life. That's a good foul and that's a good attempt at the ball. It ain't a hack, it ain't a throw, it ain't a grab, a wrap-up. I went after the ball. Watch the tape and see if I went after the block. I have a lot of respect for a lot of people.

“It's like if Bruce Bowen gets into a scuffle, are you surprised? If Ron Artest gets into a scuffle, are you surprised? OK, that pretty much sums it all up, then."

 

So Jefferson calls out Nocioni, Bruce Bowen, and Ron Artest all at once.  However, contrary to Jefferson's thoughts, anyone following Nocioni and the Bulls knows that Noce is just an extreme competitor who never gives up.  Even Jefferson's coach, Scott Skiles, played down the incident and defended his former player Nocioni by saying that Nocioni plays hard and is just physical and would never try to retaliate. 

But just last night, the Bulls played in Orlando, and again, tempers flared.  There would not be a stretch of a few minutes without the Magic complaining about Nocioni.  And how many of you saw Bogans lip "something" to Nocioni after getting fould hard by him.   Our man Nocioni just looked away, and properly avoided a confrontation.  Throughout the night the Magic complained to the refs, and the refs even told Nocioni to take his celebrations down a notch in the 4th quarter while he shot free throws. As a Bulls fan watching, I thought it was infantile that the Magic were complaining about a player playing hard.  However, the Magic fans seem to think Nocioni is a dirty player. 

Look, I will revisit this issue as the season goes on.  However, at the end of the day, Nocioni is a good guy.  He doesn't mean to hurt anyone, and just happens to play with a lot of emotion.  But then again, I'm a Bulls fan who writes for a Bulls blog.  I understand others out there may not agree, and some fans even wish their own teams had a bounty on him.  Too bad this isn't the NFL, guys.  There will be no hits on Nocioni without drawing a flagrant foul.  I support him 100% and his aggressive play is refreshing compared to the rest of the team's softness.  The season is long, and I anticipate many situations arising around Nocioni and opposing teams.  Just a message to those opponents: Don't take it personally.  Nocioni is a good guy.