Defense... is this issue overblown?

[The Force.]

The defense won't be a problem until the playoffs where guys start hunting Vucevic on pick & rolls. I wouldn't be surprised if the Bulls are forced to close tight games with Vuc on the bench. Which wouldn't be terrible if DD starts taking and making 3s.

[coldfish]

I put this in a game thread but its appropriate here:

I've been saying the defense is "spot on" all preseason.

What I mean by that is there is a rule book for how to defend pick and rolls, when to rotate, help, etc. The Bulls were not a bad defense last year and a lot of that was because the rotations were much better than other teams. The Bulls would get onto open shooters and then help the helper. The big weakness was defending pick and roll, where a lot of the guys would just die on the screen and you would get a 2 on 1 versus the big.

This year, the Bulls are hitting their marks on the pick and roll. They are helping even faster and doing so with longer, more athletic players.

Other teams don't hit their marks like this. I'm not just judging them based on results, I'm judging the actual defensive process versus standards and the performance has been ridiculous. NBA teams usually make a whole lot more mistakes than the Bulls are making.

Let me do a quick calculation.

The Bulls gave up 386 points on 427 possessions in the preseason for a DRating of 90. That would pretty much make them the greatest defense of all time when you compare it to median and do a standard deviation from last year.

Are they going to finish as the greatest defense in NBA history by a significant margin? No. Are they going to end up being a top 5 defense? Its quite possible. The only thing that would prevent that is if you see a significant let up in effort from what we are seeing in the preseason.

....

The Bulls have played the preseason at a very, very high pace. That has hidden just how great the defense is and on the other side, made the offense look better than it really is.

[gardenofsound]

I just want to bask in glory. Everything I said has been true to an even more extreme degree than I expected (I never expected Lonzo Ball and Derrick Jones Jr. to cause issues for Anthony Davis, or Javonte Green to be the starting PF and creating havoc on D).

Bulls currently 7th in DRtg. 6th in opponents' PPG.

What's the opposite of crow?

[Ice Man]

As it turns out, that post was spot on. Well done!

Things have reversed again. Last year was heralded as the big man's comeback. Jokic was MVP and Embiid a close contender. Their teams were very good, too. But this year, we're back to where were before, only more so. This has never been such a little man's league. There are five PGs on the Top 20 scoring list, three centers, and one power forward. Of the six teams in the NBA that have the best record, none is led by a center or power forward. Without question, littles dominate the offenses. And defensively, while some of the leading teams do have traditional big centers (Clippers, Denver, Phoenix, etc.), others are doing just fine with harassing permiter defenders (Golden State, Bulls, Wizards).

[fleet]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/fivethirtyeight.com/features/we-knew-the-bulls-could-score-now-their-defense-has-our-attention/amp/

[Lexluthor]

I’m sick of Javonte Green

[logical_art]

I’m sick of Javonte Green

Agreed. He reserves all his intensity for unrealistic dunk attempts and none for defense.

[Michael Jackson]

I’m sick of Javonte Green

Agreed. He reserves all his intensity for unrealistic dunk attempts and none for defense.

He likely shouldn’t be a starting PF in the league.

[PaKii94]

I’m sick of Javonte Green

Agreed. He reserves all his intensity for unrealistic dunk attempts and none for defense.

He likely shouldn’t be a starting PF in the league.

Wow what a hot take

[Michael Jackson]

Agreed. He reserves all his intensity for unrealistic dunk attempts and none for defense.

He likely shouldn’t be a starting PF in the league.

Wow what a hot take

I know pretty risky that one.

[StunnerKO]

Watch on YouTube

[BullChit]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/fivethirtyeight.com/features/we-knew-the-bulls-could-score-now-their-defense-has-our-attention/amp/

Wait the Bulls can score? Where and when?

[TheJordanRule]

He's useless when he can't shoot, which is too damn often. These entitlement minutes are obnoxious. We need to maximize the rotation and grab every win we possibly can get because these Covid seasons are full of unforeseeable issues. We have more horses than ever before. None at an MVP level ala the Rose years, but damn this offense is versatile and the defense can be furious, especially when Coby is off the floor.