Chicago Bulls: 5 Adjustments Tom Thibodeau Must Make for Next Season

The NBA Coach of the Year, Tom Thibodeau received very little criticism through most of the 2010-2011 season.  When you lead your team to a 62-20 record in the regular season as a rookie coach, after back to back 41-41 campaigns, there isn't much to criticize.

With this elite level success, now comes heightened expectations. Finishing with the league's best record now has fans, players and front office people expecting more.

The Bulls hung their hat on defense all year long. They were arguably the best defense in the league.

The Bulls held teams to 91.3 points per game (second to Celtics 91.1 ppg) on .430 percent shooting from the field and .326 percent shooting from the arc, both tops in the NBA.

In the postseason, the Bulls defense was still stout. They allowed only 88.3 points per game (second to Orlando at 86.8) .435 percent shooting from the field and .328 percent shooting from the arc.

The defensive numbers were about the same in the playoffs as they were in the regular season. On the offensive end, in the regular season the Bulls scored 98.6 points per game, in the postseason 92.5.

They shot .465 percent from the field in the regular season compared to .435 percent in the extra season. Finally, the Bulls shot .361 percent from behind the arc in the regular season but dropped to .328 percent from the arc in the postseason.

So anyone who points to a lack of defense or another player's defensive deficiencies as the reason for playoff failure is not comprehending what took place in the Indiana, Atlanta or especially the Miami Heat series.

These facts presented, what adjustments are needed to insure that the Bulls have more success whenever the Bulls and the rest of the NBA take the court?

P.S. Stomp your feet if you hate lockouts.

Handle the Carlos Boozer Situation Better

Carlos Boozer is the most handsomely paid Bulls player, fact.

Many Bulls fans were disappointed in his performance this past season, also fact.

In light of his contract and several other factors, he probably isn't going anywhere, anytime soon.

So, what is a coach to do in a situation like this? Whether he cares for every part of Boozer's game or not (namely his lack of defense) conceptually he must acknowledge the importance he has to the teams long term success.

Boozer may as well have come to the Bulls with a nipple, a string and a handle because he was our pacifier for not grabbing any or every part of Miami's big three. We can all gripe about whether that was the right choice for the Bulls to make last summer, but its too late now.

This is the roster and as I've said before, there are a lot worse realities to deal with than to accept a power forward that scores 17 points, grabs 10 rebounds but plays lackluster defense.

This said, the rookie or second year player style substitutions for Boozer can't happen. This is not Tyrus Thomas, you aren't teaching Boozer the fundamentals of the game.

He is who he is, the Bulls management knew every thing Bulls fan saw from him last season, prior to offering him the mega-deal. The injuries, the defense (or lack thereof), the trouble finishing against long and athletic bigs. None off this should have been news to anyone.

Thibs can't yank Boozer for missing defensive assignments with some players who are offensive minded and not big defensive contributors; it is a trade-off you accept.

If Thibs pulled his players every time there was a lapse on defense, Kyle Korver should have played Rasual Butler's minutes.

You pay him like a star, treat him like a star. If he still doesn't excel at the aspect of the game he always has, then there is an issue worth benching. It is difficult to perform while looking over your shoulder.

Concentrate on Offensive Philosophy More

Tom Thibodeau seems to believe that when you lose a game, play more defense. When you win a game, play more defense. This is his answer to every conundrum.

Take into consideration the numbers presented in the introduction and then check out his quote in this article. The players in the same article and many others like it echo his defensive focus as a solution to every problem.

I do not dispute that defensive effectiveness is one of the most integral qualities that a team must possess to be considered a championship contender. Defense does still win championships but not without offensive execution and clutch scoring.

There has never been a team that won an NBA championship without the other components. The old Detroit Pistons executed Chuck Daly's offense and most of all they had clutch scorers in the backcourt who could get their own shot and role players who could play off of them.

The same can be said for other strong defensive champions of the past, the Spurs teams and the Lakers. Should I even have to mention the offensive execution or clutch scoring of the Bulls six championship teams?

The Triangle and some guys named Mike, Scottie, Steve and John took care of that. In the Bulls second season under Thibodeau, the Bulls must balance the focus of attention in practices from 80 percent defense 20 percent offense to about 60 percent defense 40 percent offense.

Great teams are balanced, not just in scoring workload but in philosophy.

Improvise More, Learn When to Abandon the Script

By most accounts, Thibs is a machine. He is a tireless worker, he watches mounds and mounds of film and is constantly trying to prepare his team for upcoming games.

This is a great quality for a coach or any other professional for that matter. The problem is that with this type of systematic being, improvisation may be a weakness. Especially if it comes in an area that is not a primary focus, like offensive strategy.

After halftime, the Bulls defensive effectiveness improves. They give up 23 points per quarter in the first half but less than 22 points per quarter in the second half.

No surprise here and it may seem like that isn't a big deal, but when you take into consideration all the close games, especially in the playoffs, this can be huge.

On offense, the Bulls score about 0.5 points per game less in the second half as they do in the first half of games. Not much of a fall off, but it certainly isn't an improvement.

This would support Thibs quotes in the referenced article, "We're scoring fine."

No you're not. You're defending fine, in the Miami series the Bulls held the Heat to 90.8 points per game on 46.3 percent shooting. The Bulls scored 93.6 points per game on 47.5 percent shooting.

So, how did the Bulls lose the series? Well, some of those numbers reflect the only Bulls win in the series, a 21-point blowout. It also reflects the Bulls losing four close contests because of a lack of adjustment and execution against a nearly equal Miami Heat defense.

Hey Thibs!!!! In the fourth quarter, I got a hunch LeBron is gonna be on Derrick Rose. What is your adjustment to this repeated defensive strategy? Apparently he didn't have one.

Luol Deng (Post Game and Preserve Him)

"Gluol" was an extremely important part of the Bulls success. He also didn't offer much assistance in some key moments of the playoff losses when the Bulls desperately needed another scorer. Of course, Boozer was on the bench because he didn't rotate on defense.

Deng will never be a blow by his guy offensive player. He is a set shooter and slasher without the ball that uses the pump fake to create driving opportunities. If you think you see more than that offensively, you may need to adjust your television.

The one aspect of his game he could explore is a post game. He has the length, the shooting touch and the ability to use his body to be effective here.

This could be very helpful when Deng is the lone starter on the floor with the bench. These units played lock down defense but didn't have a offensive identity.

Since he can't create off the dribble, the post is a great place for the 6'9" lanky Deng to take advantage of most small forwards in the league.

Deng is Thibs' favorite, this is no secret. If he impresses upon him that this will help the team win, Deng will go for it. It will also preserve him a bit as I worry about the minutes he played this past season.

Hire an Offensive-Minded Assistant Coach

We all have our limitations. Thibs does not seem to have much of a clue in regards to offensive direction.

Phil Jackson was never a great X's and O's coach, he was a great manager of people, personalities and a motivator. Phil surrounded himself with assistants that were experts in the aspects of coaching he wasn't an aficionado.

Thibs needs to hire an assistant whose expertise lies in offensive philosophy and execution. Preferably one that is a great teacher of the point guard position and all its nuances.

Tutoring the position of your star only makes sense as the Bulls will likely go as far as Derrick Rose takes them from a leadership standpoint, not just scoring.

Take a look at the Bulls coaching staff. Ron Adams, largely a retread whose only past success is on the defensive side of the ball. His teams at Fresno State when he was the head coach were consistently in the lower third of the nation in scoring.  

Of course, his team's defense was in the upper portion of the scale.

Andy Greer a nondescript offensive influence. Rick Brunson is a former point guard, but not a particularly great floor general and he doesn't rank as one of the top assistants on the team.

The same can be said for Adrian Griffin, a former shooting guard, whose player focus was defense as was the case with big-man tutor Ed Pinckney.

Where is the offensive guru to go with Thibs, the defensive mastermind? The Bulls need that element. Terry Porter, Marc Iavaroni or Sam Vincent may be good additions to the coaching staff.

Either way, Thibs needs an offensive coordinator. I wonder if Mike Martz is available.