Breaking Down What Makes Chicago Bulls Defense Elite

 Chicago  No Responses »
Nov 292012
 

The Chicago Bulls should be dead in the water, their vaunted defense collapsed by the loss of so many crucial members from last year’s stingy “bench mob.” While stalwarts like Omer Asik, Ronnie Brewer and CJ Watson are off to other locations, the Bulls have maintained a top team defense. Much of this has to do with the effort coach Tom Thibodeau puts into defensive principles but a lot also has to do with analytical wisdom. 

To frame such wisdom, allow me to reference esteemed NBA gambler Haralabos Voulgaris:

Basketball with regard to offense has pretty much been solved.Take 3s, get layups and avoid long 2s.

— Haralabos Voulgaris (@haralabob) November 6, 2012

The Bulls represent the inverse of this practice, from the defensive perspective. Take away threes, stymie layups, encourage long twos. Check out this shot chart of what opponents manage against Chicago: 

With the exception of the right three-point corner (the best shot in hoops, aside from a layup or dunk), the Bulls are hounding opponents into a low three-point percentage. Also, according to numbers via HoopData, Chicago allows the 23rd-fewest three-pointers in the league. As of today, the Bulls are also ceding the lowest opponent three-point percentage of any NBA squad.

The Bulls are fine with you taking long two-pointers, though, as it’s incredibly difficult to be efficient while living on such shots. The occasional long-two savant like Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash or Stephen Curry can make a team pay with the midrange J, but most NBA players simply can’t.

A long two-pointer isn’t likely to draw a foul, and the guy who launches is will miss more than half his attempts. Right now, the Bulls are giving up the third-most long twos in basketball. So long as opponents aren’t shooting from the center-right floor spot, the strategy has benefitted Chicago mightily. 

Joakim Noah’s mobility, combined with overall team defense, has also allowed the Bulls to dissuade opponents from getting to the rim. Chicago is 24th in opponent attempts at the basket. 

On Wednesday night, Chicago-style defense was on full display.

Dallas, a team that has been in a long love affair with three pointers, was hounded above the arc. In the end, they shot four of 18 from three-point land and 34.6 percent from the field altogether. At the basket, the Mavs converted a mere nine attempts. Granted, Dallas isn’t exactly a juggernaut, but they presented a fine object lesson in how Thibodeau turns offenses into sausage. 

Forcing teams into statistically worse shots is easier said than done, but it’s important to at least know what the correct strategy should be. Some coaches, quite frankly, are clueless. To them, defense is about contesting tries, wherever they occur. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the savvy defense not only contests shots, but also funnels players to less desirable floor spaces. 

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Omer Asik scores on his own basket in Rockets’ win over Raptors (VIDEO) (Ball Don’t Lie)

 Toronto  No Responses »
Nov 282012
 

Omer Asik’s been great on the defensive boards for the Houston Rockets, grabbing nearly 28 percent of opponents’ misses during his time on the court this season. The Toronto Raptors, the Rockets’ Tuesday night opponents, kind of stink on the offensive glass, posting the league’s ninth-worst offensive rebounding percentage thus far. Logic, then, dictates that just about whenever the Raptors missed a shot on Tuesday, if Asik was out there, he’d be Hoovering it and quickly tossing an outlet pass to Houston table-setters James Harden and Jeremy Lin.
And then plays like this happen, and you’re reminded that logic doesn’t always reign in a game with a round ball that bounces funny from time to time:

Welp. Not precisely the kind of defensive glass-cleaning Houston’s come to expect from its 26-year-old starting center.

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The 10-man rotation, starring Omer Asik — the NBA’s newest Yao Ming (Ball Don’t Lie)

 Chicago  No Responses »
Nov 212012
 

A look around the league and the web that covers it. It’s also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren’t always listed in order of importance. That’s for you, dear reader, to figure out.
C : Houston Chronicle . Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau oddly/accurately compares Omer Asik to Yao Ming.
PF : On Milwaukee . Great feature from John Owczarski on the Monta Ellis/Brandon Jennings pairing.
SF : Detroit Bad Boys . On Andre Drummond’s strong start to his rookie season.
SG : De-Thurmond Analysis . Breaking down Anthony Davis and Kyle Singler’s nascent careers.
PG : Four Pins . Our hero Trey Kerby on some of the NBA’s worst fashion trends.

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Derrick Rose: Slumping Chicago Bulls Must Adapt to Life Without Star PG

 Chicago  No Responses »
Nov 202012
 

The Chicago Bulls are currently mired in a two-game losing streak, and their only victory in the past four games has come against the mediocre Phoenix Suns in overtime.

It’s clear that this 5-5 team is struggling to adapt without superstar point guard Derrick Rose, who is out indefinitely rehabbing a torn ACL suffering in last year’s first playoff game.

However, that’s no excuse for their poor defensive effort, something that head coach Tom Thibodeau is fuming about. He vented to ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell:

“The defense right now, the intensity, we got to get that part right,” a frustrated Thibodeau said. “We got to get that right. The rebounding’s not good, the turnovers … so the defense the rebounding and the turnovers, all three are a problem right now so we got to correct that. Those three things put you in position to win. Then the inside out and sharing the ball. So we got to correct that.” 

While the Bulls are still ninth in the league in points allowed—giving up just 94.2 per game—they haven’t held a team under 100 since beating the Minnesota Timberwolves back on November 10th—four games ago.

If that trend continues, the Bulls are going to lose a lot more than they win. They aren’t an offensive team whatsoever without Rose, relying on a relatively even point distribution between their starters and primary bench players.

Luol Deng is the “go-to” scorer now, and is averaging just 18.1 points in 40.1 minutes of play. When Joakim Noah, a player renowned for his defensive intensity and hustle, is the second leading scorer—it’s readily apparent that this isn’t a group that will outgun anyone.

The Chicago brass did its best to find an adequate replacement for Rose in the offseason, bringing “Captain” Kirk Hinrich back aboard to facilitate and signing a surprisingly rejuvenated Nate Robinson to get buckets off the bench, but coach Thib’s squad is obviously still hurting without the 2010 MVP’s production.

It’s looking like the only way to keep this ship afloat is to figure out a way to play defense, and fortunately that is the head coach’s specialty. He’s a mastermind that knows how to hinder the opposition, regardless of personnel. Unfortunately, it seems that the players and Thibodeau aren’t on the same page right now.

Until they get their act together, dial up the intensity on D and buckle down for stops, the Bulls are going to struggle. They have a chance to turn things around and get back above .500 on Wednesday night when they travel to Houston to take on the Rockets.

If you tune in, make sure to observe how the team is playing defense as a unit against a feisty young team that includes James Harden, Jeremy Lin and former Bull, Omer Asik. It’s imperative that they succeed on that end in order to hold the Rockets under 100 points and pick up a W. 

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Terrence Jones dunks right on Jodie Meeks, earns more playing time (VIDEO) (Ball Don’t Lie)

 Miami  No Responses »
Nov 192012
 

Over the past few seasons, the Houston Rockets have lots of promising young forwards, which looks great on paper but has proven difficult to manage in practice. With several players in need of playing time to prove their abilities and improve their games, it hasn’t been easy for the organization to learn which guys need more playing time in the short term, let alone which can be counted on for years. It’s a relatively nice problem to have, but it’s still a problem.
Over the first few weeks of this season, rookie Terrence Jones, the 18th overall pick in June after helping Kentucky to a national title, has been one of the losers in this battle for minutes. Jones played in only two of the Rockets’ first nine games for a total of 13 minutes, including a 30-second cameo in last Monday’s narrow loss to the Miami Heat. On Sunday, Jones got his biggest opportunity of the year so far, playing 20 minutes in a 119-108 loss to the Lakers at Staples Center. And Jones did not disappoint.
With 8:30 remaining in the second quarter, Jones took an outlet pass from teammate Omer Asik and pushed the ball ahead in the hopes of beating the Lakers defenders down the court. His driving lanes never closed, and Jones took it right to the hoop. Jodie Meeks — another former Kentucky Wildcat, although they weren’t teammates in Lexington — attempted to take a charge, but that just put him on Jones’s poster. The subsequent tomahawk jam stands as one of the best dunks of the season so far.

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11 things about 12 games

 Rumors  No Responses »
Nov 012012
 

A dozen contests into the NBA’s 1,230-game regular season, a few things worth noting:

There does seem to be less flopping since the NBA’s new rule, even though to my knowledge the rule has not yet resulted in any penalties. Did anybody else notice what looked like Chris Paul complaining to a referee about Tony Allen’s exaggerating contact? Whatever the rules, Paul’s mind never rests attempting to find wins for his team.
Feeling pretty good about my Omer Asik for Most Improved Player pick so far.

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Flop of the Night: Omer Asik

 Rumors  No Responses »
Nov 012012
 

<em>HoopIdea wants to #StopTheFlop. To spotlight the biggest fakers, we present Flop of the Night. You can help us separate the pretenders from the defenders — details below:</em>

Flop of the Night returns with <a href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=xWln6-0MLhI” target=”_blank”>this dive from Omer Asik (Video)</a>.

In the second quarter of the Rockets’ win opening night win over the Pistons, Rodney Stuckey came off a pick and headed directly for Houston’s biggest player, who had good position at the rim.

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Taj Gibson’s New Contract Huge Step for Derrick Rose’s Future Title Hopes

 Chicago  No Responses »
Nov 012012
 

After breaking down in tears following a first look at the shoe commercial depicting his rehab, Derrick Rose has a reason to smile today.

That’s because the Chicago Bulls locked down forward Taj Gibson with a four-year contract extension worth $38 million (via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune), giving Rose a power forward he can rely on for years to come.

Gibson will still be coming off the bench for now, as Carlos Boozer remains entrenched as the starting power forward. However, Bulls fans have been disenchanted with the former All-Star so far in his tenure with Chicago. Don’t be surprised if the Bulls try to dump his contract, especially considering that this may be a lost season for the team.

In just three years, Gibson has established himself as an elite defender capable of anchoring a defense. Gibson’s defensive rating has also gotten better in each of his three seasons.

In 2012, Chicago gave up 10.5 less points per 100 possessions when Gibson was on the floor as opposed to when he was off it. That’s an absolutely staggering number.

Some of the credit goes to head coach Tom Thibodeau and his genius defensive schemes, but Gibson and his former frontcourt partner Omer Asik consistently outperformed starters Boozer and Joakim Noah in defensive metrics.

Although defense is Gibson’s calling card, his offense is coming along nicely as well. That may be what pushes Chicago to dump Boozer and make Gibson the full-time starter. Don’t get me wrong—he’s still nowhere near as polished as Boozer at the offensive end—but he has made strides on that end of the floor.

He’s a super athlete who can run the floor and finish strong around the rim, but he’s improved the rest of his arsenal as well.

Last year, Gibson set career highs in field-goal percentage, true shooting percentage, points per 36 minutes, assist percentage and offensive rating. The Bulls as a team also grabbed a significantly higher percentage of offensive boards with Gibson on the floor.

Some might question the Bulls giving Gibson such a big raise when they still have Boozer on the books for so much money over the next three seasons, but it was the right thing to do.

Keeping Gibson means that the Bulls retain an elite defender for their elite defense. He has the skills to guard post players down low and cover perimeter guys masquerading as 4s in small lineups. He is also a solid rebounder and terrific weak-side shot-blocker.

As his career progresses, Gibson will become a better offensive player and give Derrick Rose another option to go to. For now, at minimum, he’ll be a hard worker and defensive anchor on the second unit. Going forward, Gibson is definitely a piece in Chicago’s championship puzzle.

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Can This Season’s Chicago Bulls Bench Mob Match the 2011-12 Version?

 Chicago  No Responses »
Oct 182012
 

The talent is gone, though I’m not quite talking about the team parting with Kyrylo Fesenko today. Chicago’s regular season prowess was powered and defined by its “bench mob,” a collection of defense-first role players who formed a smothering, fearsome Leviathan.

Basketball Value charts the points teams gain or lose when players are on the court. Take a look at the numbers for Chicago over the past two seasons. What you’ll notice is that many lesser known players are on the court when Chicago is surging ahead. Guys like Taj Gibson and Omer Asik dominated these categories. 

Gibson remains, but Asik has fled to Houston. Defensive specialists Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Watson are not coming back this season. Kyle Korver is also gone, though he never exactly was a defensive specialist. 

So will Chicago take a giant step back? Does losing these players equal a greater loss in esprit de corps?

Chicago will be worse on defense this year, in part because they can’t be any better. They’ve been ranked No. 1 on D in these past two seasons. Omer Asik is a mobile, defensive savant, and Thibodeau‘s crew will certainly suffer in his absence. 

I’m just inclined to be skeptical of an overall Bulls defensive collapse (unless they wish to tank while Derrick Rose sits out most of the season, but that’s another matter). Defense, more than offense, is dependent on coaching and scheme. Scott Skiles has been making do with mediocre defensive talent for seemingly eons.

So long as Chicago has Thibs, Chicago should have a defense. 

It is also worth mentioning that Chicago’s starting lineup is not exactly defense-inept. The starters have been outperformed relative to the hyper defensive-focused bench, but they’re still capable of clamping down like this. 

Notice how one starter in particular wasn’t on the court. I would expect to see less of Carlos Boozer next year and more of Taj Gibson, possibly in the starting rotation. With a weakened bench of Warriors rejects Nate Robinson, Vladimir Radmanovic, and Marco Belinelli, Thibodeau might just cut his losses with the unit and focus on his starters. 

The Chicago bench mob won’t be nearly as good on defense next season, though I believe that the Bulls will be a top-5 unit defensively overall. I expect Chicago to improve their starting unit’s D, while wringing offense from substitutes. Yes, it’s tough to lose an imposing bench mob, but any defense that features Luol Deng, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson should be formidable. 

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