Boozer benched for lack of defense.

[QuantumMacgyver]

So (Carlos) Boozer sat and he said afterward it was not his decision.

“You gotta talk to Thibs (Tom Thibodeau) about that,” Boozer said. “That was a coaching decision.”

He repeated that when asked again in a somewhat different way.

“Yeah, we were surprised (Boozer didn’t come back in),” said (Derrick) Rose. “But we’re not going to try to coach. We’re going to do our jobs and that’s to play. We’re going to leave the subbing up to him.”

That said, Boozer and Rose were very much into the game while on the bench in the fourth, leaping up at every Bulls basket and exploding when they thought (C.J.) Watson was fouled for three shots.

“I want us to win,” said Boozer. “I’m always going to cheer my teammates on no matter what.”

But Boozer had difficulty on defense at times with Kris Humphries. He was benched for rookie Derrick Favors, but he came off the bench for 20 points and 15 rebounds, frequently beating the Bulls down court or for lobs. And early in the third quarter, Favors, who had seven points and five rebounds in nine foul plagued minutes, beat Boozer twice to open the quarter and send the Bulls into a quick timeout. It’s no secret Boozer’s strength is not defense, but he makes up for it with his offense, and if you are going to have him you are going to have to use him that way.

But the Bulls starters did have a somewhat unaggressive start, and when the Nets tried to play faster with smaller players and went frequently into zone defense, Thibodeau said he decided to match that rather than try to exploit it.


Read more NBA news and insight: http://www.hoopsworld.com/HeadlineStori ... TORY_30491#ixzz1AHLFkMue

Really glad we don't have to tolerate this anymore!

[jc23]

Bit more to the story than just Booozer's inability to defend. Bulls went small with Lu at the 4 and it got them back in the game so Thibs stayed with this lineup with Asik (who also played well in the 4th) at center.

[HammerDunk]

LOL, I recall watching Kris light him up with when Boozer was with us as well. How playa is that man...

[UTJazzFan_Echo1]

Surprise, surprise.

I'm interested to see how they do over the next few seasons. Wonder if Booze can take the 2nd and maybe even 3rd fiddle to Rose and Noah. Didn't do very well being 2nd fiddle behind D-Will so we shall see how it goes.

[QuantumMacgyver]

Bit more to the story than just Booozer's inability to defend. Bulls went small with Lu at the 4 and it got them back in the game so Thibs stayed with this lineup with Asik (who also played well in the 4th) at center.

Sounds like Thib has a better PR man than Booz. That's like saying the Lakers are gonna bench Pau so that they can go small and match up better with the Nets. Bottom line is; Booz has made no improvement on the defensive end.... Kris Humphries... seriously?

[Lava Rock Kid]

I sure miss Boozers Offensive Game and Rebounding though.

[GP]

Its funny because we benched Al in a game because of lack of offense (heat game). Sometime you just have to bench players, not a big deal in either case. Now, if they replace him in the starting lineup permanently, THAT is news worthy.

[QuantumMacgyver]

Its funny because we benched Al in a game because of lack of offense (heat game). Sometime you just have to bench players, not a big deal in either case. Now, if they replace him in the starting lineup permanently, THAT is news worthy.

The difference in those two situations are that offense is defined by skillset and shot selection. Defense is defined entirely by effort. Big Al was giving the effort, just couldn't get his shots to fall. Booz just simply doesn't try defensively.

[king everything]

Its only a matter of time until him hammy blows for the season... and next pre-season... until the 2012 All-star game... etc... etc...

[Neon Black]

There's a dark place in all of us that is happy when Boozer fails.

[The59Sound]

There's a dark place in all of us that is happy when Boozer fails.

Probably deep-down. But in general, I try to hope for the best for him. I'm really glad he's off this team, but I'm pulling for him in Chicago. If he's ever struck with the epiphany that he should probably play defense, I'll be happy about it.

I basically think of him as a good guy who doesn't care enough about the game, and just coasts on his offensive talents, both because it's more fun and because it comes more naturally to him.

[Neon Black]

Yeah I feel the same way, at least I think I do. And then I see threads like this and for some reason I'm feel vindicated.

[drivewayball]

Memory check: Jerry Sloan once sat Boozer during a fourth quarter of a game and there was a controversy similar to what is going on in Chicago today. Sloan later acknowledged that he was sorry he sat Boozer . . . he felt he had made a mistake. Who recalls it?

[Sloanfeld]

Didn't do very well being 2nd fiddle behind D-Will so we shall see how it goes.

There's no point to even beat a dead horse and respond to this, other than to point out how utterly stupid it is.

[Sloanfeld]

Memory check: Jerry Sloan once sat Boozer during a fourth quarter of a game and there was a controversy similar to what is going on in Chicago today. Sloan later acknowledged that he was sorry he sat Boozer . . . he felt he had made a mistake. Who recalls it?

I was thinking the same thing when I was watching that game. 06-07, Fifth game of the season, it was our only loss during our 12-1 start, and it was at New Jersey. People were upset that Sloan did not play Boozer, and couldn't figure it out either.

[drivewayball]

Sloanfeld, think back. I'm positive that Sloan later said that he regretted his decision to sit Boozer and that it had been a mistake. It was a few days or a week after.