Bull are ranked #1 in Defense!

[RonMercerMVP]

There's room for improvement because we have Kurt Thomas as our starting center and our regular starting lineup hasn't played much together.

Harping on Boozer individually like he's bringing us down, doesn't make sense when the results show differently.

I'm simply saying his net output could be a lot higher if he put more brains and effort on the defensive end. He gives up too many easy baskets, and he has a bigger role in the defense since he's our PF. That's all I'm saying. The question is what can Thibs do that Sloan hasn't to assist Booz in his defensive endeavors, because it is making a dent in our otherwise near-impeccable D. Booz missing a rotation can throw the whole defense off, and while that applies to the whole team, we don't have too many bad defenders like that.

[panthermark]

@RonMercerMVP

What do you suggest? We TRADE Boozer? If so....for who?

There are only a couple of "two way" PF's that are great on both sides of the ball. Every PF that was available this summer was a weak defender. Dirk, Amare, Bosh, Scola, Lee....

We all know he is a weak defender, but the team is set up to cover up his weakness, whle reaping the rewards of his offense.

Never said trade Boozer, but there has to be something that Sloan hasn't tried to get him to learn/commit on the defensive end more.

And having a big man that can't defend is a lot bigger of an issue than a perim player that can't D.

Bosh: Has DWade and LeBron on his team.
Dirk: Is more of a 3 than a 4, and his team is a lot more offensive than defensive.
Scola: Losing team.
Lee: Losing team.

But we HAVE a big man that can defend....we have serveral of them.
Boozer will never be a great...we knew that when signed him. I wish he was better...but it is what it is. Thibs has already benched him....

[ELCIDz]

I am interested to see how the 2k11 Bulls finishes compared to the 94 Bulls. I think it's going to follow a similar track.

[organix85]

If we had someone better than Boozer, we'd be ranked 0.5.

[coldfish]

I think this gets back to a general issue that revolves around the Bulls and its fanbase. That is to say, unrealistic expectations for defense. People seem to think that every point given up is a horrible offense against man. It doesn't work that way in the NBA. There has never been a team, EVER, that played significantly better than this year's Bulls on defense.

The Bulls defensive rating is 100.1. That's the best in the league. That means for every 100 opponent possessions, the Bulls give up 100.1 points. Only one of the Dynasty Bulls teams had a better ranking, believe it or not. I doubt that many Bulls fans would look at it that way.

I'll give some numbers for reference:
72-10 Bulls
Offense 115.2 (1st)
Defense 101.8 (1st)

This year's team
Offense 105.8 (17th)
Defense 100.1 (1st)

Now, maybe I'm wrong, but it would seem that the Bulls have more room for growth on offense than defense.

Last notes:
- I suspect that if Noah had been able to play this entire season, we just may have had an all time great defending team.
- Ron MercerMVP is right in a lot of regards. I think I know the defense really well and I see Boozer blow his assignment with regularity. Its frustrating and it really is an opportunity for improvement. That being said, I don't want to overstate its potential impact either.

[panthermark]

While the final stats may not show it....(due to injuries)
When healthy...and with a better SG...
This team could hit the top 10 in offense, while being top 3 in both defense and rebounding.

Those are title team rankings...

[Clocian]

whats scary is that it should get A LOT better when noah gets back and when we stop this stupid only play defense in the 2nd half ****.

[dice]

the only available team defensive statistic that really matters is OTS%, and the bulls are #2 behind miami

w/o boozer: 52.6% against teams w/ pace-adjusted TS% of 54.9% +2.3
booz+noah: 50.4% against teams w/ pace-adjusted TS% of 54.3% +3.9
w/o noah: 50.3% against teams w/ pace-adjusted TS% of 53.0% 2.7

defense got better w/ booz in lineup and has been better w/ booz only than w/ noah only. surprising. but was the better performance when booz came aboard just a coincidence due to small sample size (9 games) and the team having better adjusted to thibs' system? well, we know booz is a bad defender, so i'd have to say yes

[panthermark]

the only available team defensive statistic that really matters is OTS%, and the bulls are #2 behind miami

w/o boozer: 52.6% against teams w/ pace-adjusted TS% of 54.9% +2.3
booz+noah: 50.4% against teams w/ pace-adjusted TS% of 54.3% +3.9
w/o noah: 50.3% against teams w/ pace-adjusted TS% of 53.0% 2.7

defense got better w/ booz in lineup and has been better w/ booz only than w/ noah only. surprising. but was the better performance when booz came aboard just a coincidence due to small sample size (9 games) and the team having better adjusted to thibs' system? well, we know booz is a bad defender, so i'd have to say yes

It seems right. Noah was here for all of the tough games. Boozer jumped in for most of the easier games.

No matter what defensive ranking you use, we are in the top 4 for all of them.

[Rerisen]

It's nice I guess and certainly is evidence of Thibs influence, but I don't particularly like the way the team is playing.

On defense specifically?

I think Boozer is going to continue to frustrate on defense at times, Jerry Sloan couldn't make him a good defender either. Thomas is also slow and limited when not against another plodder. Bogans tries, but isn't particularly athletic, holding him back in many matchups.

We should note our rise in defense has corresponded with a relatively easier stretch of the schedule, but at the same time, I think the team has improved as well. In its rotations and help.

That we are number 1 has to be seen as over achieving I would think, without Noah.

[DanTown8587]

No one really disagrees in this thread.

-Bulls defense is great
-Bulls defense could be better with regards to certain players on individual plays
-Bulls offense would be a reason this team loses in a playoff series over it's defense most likely
-This ranking rings hollow considering the poor performances lately to below average teams and on the road

I think it's a testament to Thibs defensive principles that a team that plays Korver, Boozer for significant minutes, lost Noah for a 1/3 of their games and doesn't really score that well is having an all time great defensive season.

[m_willis01]

#1 without playing defense in the first quarter of any game this year. Impressive.

This.

P.s. Tonight might get ugly...Have a feeling Boozer will repeatedly get outhustled & have poor defensive rotations...

[Rerisen]

Now, maybe I'm wrong, but it would seem that the Bulls have more room for growth on offense than defense.

I do get the impression at times that we are expected to win a title by having the 17th offense, but by having a historically unprecedented defense. Sometimes by Tom Thibodeau no less!

With Carlos Boozer at PF, our room for growth on defense has to be very very small. We are near to maxed out there. But not nearly so on offense. The Jazz with Boozer had a better offense the last 4 years than we have right now.

[barnett114]

#1 without playing defense in the first quarter of any game this year. Impressive.

This.

P.s. Tonight might get ugly...Have a feeling Boozer will repeatedly get outhustled & have poor defensive rotations...

[panthermark]

I think we are overachieving on D right now because of the easy schedule. But Noah will help when we play tougher teams in the offs.

With that said....Noah and a solid "2-way" SG will make our offense much more efficient....without a real drop off in defense.

Just imagine another 40% 3tpt shooter in the corner that is not afraid to take an open shot, can take more than 1 dribble, and can also defend. Such a player (along with Noah's passing and second chance points) will do wonders for our offense.....

[dabig3]

I'll start to care when our defensive ranking allows us to beat scrub teams on the road. Till then, it's just a stat.

[HoosierChiFan]

Who cares? Until they can win on the road, this Bulls team can't be taken seriously.

[transplant]

It's nice I guess and certainly is evidence of Thibs influence, but I don't particularly like the way the team is playing.

On defense specifically?

I think Boozer is going to continue to frustrate on defense at times, Jerry Sloan couldn't make him a good defender either. Thomas is also slow and limited when not against another plodder. Bogans tries, but isn't particularly athletic, holding him back in many matchups.

We should note our rise in defense has corresponded with a relatively easier stretch of the schedule, but at the same time, I think the team has improved as well. In its rotations and help.

That we are number 1 has to be seen as over achieving I would think, without Noah.

No, not on defense specifically, but though I've always been a guy who has espoused defense as half of the game (with little popular support), I felt that I needed to acknowledge the totality.

I want a better team effort, particularly at the start of games. I want my team to bury lesser teams when they have the chance. IMO, overall they're playing like last year's Hawks, and I'm hoping for better. I don't think that this is unreasonable with the presence of Rose, Boozer and Deng, all top-8 at their positions, in the starting lineup and (relatively) high-priced players like Brewer and Korver off the bench.

[bentheredengthat]

#1 without playing defense in the first quarter of any game this year. Impressive.

This.

P.s. Tonight might get ugly...Have a feeling Boozer will repeatedly get outhustled & have poor defensive rotations...

How is it possible to routinely give up 30 point quarters and be ranked #1 in defense?

I know, I exaggerate, but sometimes it feels that way.

[kyrv]

It's nice I guess and certainly is evidence of Thibs influence, but I don't particularly like the way the team is playing.

On defense specifically?

I think Boozer is going to continue to frustrate on defense at times, Jerry Sloan couldn't make him a good defender either. Thomas is also slow and limited when not against another plodder. Bogans tries, but isn't particularly athletic, holding him back in many matchups.

We should note our rise in defense has corresponded with a relatively easier stretch of the schedule, but at the same time, I think the team has improved as well. In its rotations and help.

That we are number 1 has to be seen as over achieving I would think, without Noah.

I'm just going to be honest here, and I'm not historically a negative nelly, but I didn't high five anyone when I read this. The team doesn't look like overall it is playing well, and the offense is having issues as I think Fish and others noted a while ago.

My first reaction to this news was to think 'balance'. Having the #1 defense is wonderful, but if you are below average offense, won't matter. And what bugs me is that the Bulls do have a lot of offensive talent.

With the #17 offense, if our defense and Miami's is similar, I see being crushed because their offense is so much better, or can be.

Disclaimer: A new coach can't really just come in and have the #1 offense and defense after a few months. And it makes the most sense imo to start with defense. I just hope Thibs is not starting and ending with defense.

Mr. States the Obvious: In the NBA everyone scores a lot of points. Everyone gives up a lot of points. You have to be able to score in a lot of ways to be an elite team. One dimensional (offense or defense) have little to no chance to reach the finals.