Power Ranking the Chicago Bulls and the NBA's Most Dominant Defensive Teams
As basketball becomes more popular and basketball analysis becomes more popular there has been a shift in the way that we look at measuring the game. Pace has become a prominent factor in understanding how well a team plays.
Essentially, teams take turns with the ball, ergo there is a roughly even number of possessions per game. A team that scores 100 points per game, but only uses 90 possessions therefore, has a better offense than a team that scores 101 points, but uses 100 possessions.
The team that scores the most efficiently is the team with the best offense. Likewise the team which yields the lowest points per 100 possessions is the team with the best defense.
However there is another aspect of defense which gets missed, and that's points created by the defense. A player that gets a steal, runs down the court and dunks the ball is actually generating points through their defense, but that doesn't get reflected in efficiency rankings.
Now not both of those points can be attributed to the defense. The team would have inevitably gotten that possession regardless, and may or may not have scored on it. So what percentage of the points gets attributed to the defense?
Let's say that typically the team scores 1.00 point per play, but in transition they score 1.25 points per play. That means the defense generated .25 points. (In this case it was successful, but no tall turnovers result in automatic points.)
If we look at the total transition points per game, and multiply that by the difference between what the team averages in set offenses versus what they score in transition and adjust that for pace, we can determine the number of points generated by the defense per game.
If we then subtract that number from the defensive efficiency, it gives us a sense of the true defensive value of the team. Teams like Miami, Memphis and Denver, who create lots of scoring through their defense, are more accurately represented.
Here are the NBA's 10 best defensive teams when you account for points created by defense. I refer to the adjusted total as True Defensive Efficiency or TDE.
10. Portland Trail Blazers
1 of 10Defensive Efficiency: 97.1
Points off Defense: 2.17
True Defensive Efficiency: 94.93
Anchored by Gerald Wallace and LaMarcus Aldridge, two of the best two-way players in the game, the Portland Trail Blazers are a solid defensive team.
Based on defensive efficiency they would be sixth, but the team is not as adept at creating transition offense as you might think. They only score 1.09 points per play in transition, which is 22nd in the NBA. That's what brings their ranking down.
9: New York Knicks
2 of 10Defensive Efficiency: 97.5
Points off Defense: 3.06
True Defensive Efficiency: 94.44
The Knicks brought in Tyson Chandler to improve their defense. It's worked. The attention has gone to Jeremy Lin and "Linsanity," but the addition of Chandler has been great for the team's defense.
Chandler is yielding just .79 points per play and has been a fantastic help defender. He has led the Knicks to becoming a top 10 defense in the league, though he's gotten more than a little help from Iman Shumpert as well.
8. Indiana Pacers
3 of 10Defensive Efficiency: 97.3
Points off Defense: 2.96
True Defensive Efficiency: 94.34
Frank Vogel's name deserves to be in the mix for Coach of the Year honors. It's his defensive scheme that has the Pacers playing so well. Indiana is very much in contention for home-court advantage and Vogel's scheme is the reason why.
The Pacers try and fill up the paint and force outside shots. As a result they give up the sixth fewest points in the paint and the seventh lowest opponent's field-goal percentage.
7. Atlanta Hawks
4 of 10Defensive Efficiency: 97.5
Points off Defense: 3.99
True Defensive Efficiency: 93.51
The Atlanta Hawks' defensive success comes from shutting down opposing backcourts. The 55.3 points they give up in that regard are the sixth fewest in the NBA.
They are also second best as a team defending isolation. The 0.7 points per play they give up is third and they are fifth best in terms of defending transition.
This all points to what you would expect. Atlanta is a top defensive team because they are athletic. They get back quickly and they are tough to beat man to man.
6. Memphis Grizzlies
5 of 10Defensive Efficiency: 98.6
Points off Defense: 5.39
True Defensive Efficiency: 93.21
The Memphis Grizzlies are the team that benefits the most considering how many points are generated by their defense. The Griz score 5.39 points per 100 plays as a result of their outstanding transition game.
Their 1.18 points per play ranks them second in the NBA in points per play in transition. They are also first in the NBA in defending the isolation play.
You have to wonder how much further up they could be if they had Zach Randolph in the lineup.
5. Dallas Mavericks
6 of 10Defensive Efficiency: 95.6
Points off Defense: 2.45
True Defensive Efficiency: 93.15
The Mavericks defense was supposed to fall apart without Tyson Chandler in the lineup, but somehow they are making due without him, ranking fifth in True Defensive Efficiency.
The secret of the Mavericks' defensive success rests on stopping opposing backcourts. They are the ninth best team at defending the pick and roll, giving up just .81 points per play. They also defend the spot-up well, giving up .95 points per play, 11th best in the NBA.
All that might not seem anything special, but it does end up resulting in opposing backcourts scoring just 36.9 points per game, which is fourth best in the NBA.
4. Miami Heat
7 of 10Defensive Efficiency: 95.6
Points off Defense: 2.45
True Defensive Efficiency: 93.15
The Miami Heat have tremendous speed that they use primarily in sealing off the perimeter, but is also effective in generating tons of fast-break points. The Heat yield just 51.0 points per game to opposing frontcourts, which is fourth best in the NBA.
They also average 1.17 points per play in transition, which is third best in the NBA.
I can describe the Heat's defense with this play which seems to occur at least once every game. Chalmers deflects a pass along the perimeter. Wade runs out and picks it up, then lobs it to James who goes for the thunder dunk.
The effectiveness of the Heat's defense is how well they turn defense into offense.
3. Philadelphia 76ers
8 of 10Defensive Efficiency: 94.2
Points off Defense: 1.98
True Defensive Efficiency: 92.22
The Philadelphia 76ers have the best overall defensive efficiency in the NBA. The real strength of this team is in their guards and wings who are extremely athletic.
They are the best team at defending the spot-up jumper, yielding just .85 points per play. They also allow a paltry .71 average against the pick and roll.
Philadelphia is a balanced defensive team giving up the second fewest points to opposing frontcourts (50.7), as well as the second fewest points to opposing backcourts (36.7).
Where they struggle though is turning the defense into offense. When it comes to transition points they are 27th in the NBA. That's what drops them from first in the rankings down to third.
2. Boston Celtics
9 of 10Defensive Efficiency: 95.3
Points off Defense: 1.98
True Defensive Efficiency: 91.95
After a bit of a struggle to start the year, the Boston Celtics are establishing themselves once again as a premier defensive team in the NBA.
Synergy breaks down defenses into 11 categories. Boston is top 10 in eight of them, and top five in six of them. Combined, those categories count for about 80 percent of all their defensive plays.
The two areas where they struggle are in transition and off of offensive rebounds, where they are 25th and 26th respectively.
Essentially this means that Boston is as good as anyone in the NBA when it comes to defending in a set offense. Where they struggle though is giving up the offensive rebound after they effectively shut someone down.
They also struggle getting back on defense.
It's what you expect. This is a tough, veteran team that plays very hard, very good defense. When they can rely on their experience and veteran wisdom, they are extremely effective, but on the energy plays, they struggle.
1. Chicago Bulls
10 of 10Defensive Efficiency: 94.8
Points off Defense: 2.98
True Defensive Efficiency: 91.82
Not surprisingly the Chicago Bulls are the top defensive team in the NBA. It says something that Tom Thibodeau is the architect of the two best defenses in the league.
The Bulls defend pretty much everything well. The one thing they struggle with defending, the post-up, is only used against them 8.6 percent of the time.
They give up an NBA best 35.5 points to opposing backcourts and the 10th best to opposing frontcourts.
They are also eighth best in the NBA in terms of being able to generate defensive points.
The Bulls have a very simple strategy. They use help defense to force bad shots, then they get the rebound. They have the third lowest opponent field-goal percentage (.453) and the best rebound differential (9.2) in the NBA.
The strategy is this. Give the other team one bad shot, then get the rebound. It's a very effective strategy.
