Chicago Bulls: 10 Adjustments the Team Must Make to Surge in 2nd Half

Even with the NBA's best record, the Chicago Bulls are far from perfect and will have to make some minor adjustments to complete the second half of their impressive regular season.

After 40 games and 32 wins, Tom Thibodeau and his players still have a variety of questions they must answer.

Here are 10 things that will help them out.

More Transition Opportunities

It’s obvious that the Bulls are at their best when the ball is in the hands of Derrick Rose.

Rose is fast.  Lightning fast.

His ability to quickly advance the ball up the court is what aids him on drives to the basket and allows him to find shooters who spot up in transition.

The less time that defenses have to react, the better the scoring opportunity.

Even with one of the league’s elite point guards and stingiest defenses, the Bulls still only rank 10^th in fast-break points.

I understand where some of you may find this to be nit-picking, but considering how they rank second in points allowed, there should be more than enough chances for the Bulls to run the break.

The lack of opportunities is what brings me to my next point.

Consistent Defensive Rebounding

For a team who averages 45.6 rebounds per game and ranks second in the NBA, this might be a surprising area to improve.

In their March 4th victory against the Philadelphia 76ers, Carlos Boozer and his teammates allowed the much smaller team to grab 18 offensive rebounds.  In his matchup against power forward Elton Brand, Boozer was nothing more than a glorified parking cone.  His lack of presence and effort allowed Brand to grab 13 total boards—including eight on the offensive end!

A day after their porous rebounding effort, the Bulls grabbed 18 offensive rebounds of their own and held the Indiana Pacers to seven.  The results were not surprising.

Instead of winning by five, the team enjoyed a 20-point win.

By securing their opponent’s misses, the Bulls can save an extra defensive possession, while giving themselves a head start on offense.

Better Interior Defense

As a 6’9” power forward, Boozer is known more for his offense than his defense; however, a bunch of his defensive deficiencies have been masked thanks to the play of the front-court as a unit.

Although Joakim Noah is only averaging 1.21 blocks per game, he is the only true shot-blocking threat that the Bulls have to offer and alters countless attempts that turn into misses.  Backups Taj Gibson and Omer Asik come off the bench and act as immediate upgrades on defense over Boozer.

For a Tom Thibodeau-led team, it’s almost embarrassing to see such a weak link; however, he has a done a good job of disguising Boozer through substitutions.

The arduous thing about Boozer’s lack of defensive efficiency is that it has a compounding effect on the rest of the team.

A Clear Second Option

Chicago doesn’t have a better offensive post-player than Boozer, yet he is averaging only 15.4 points per game—his lowest output since his rookie season.

A reason for his decline in production is his decrease in minutes.  His 29.8 minutes-per-game is also the fewest amount since his first year.

This suggests that Chicago is sacrificing offense for defense more than it would like.

As Boozer sits, more pressure will fall on Chi-Town’s All-Stars to score.

Rose already averages 22.8 points while distributing the ball. However, All-Star teammate Luol Deng only puts up 0.2 more points than Boozer while playing almost nine more minutes.

As of right now, it’s difficult to identify who the team’s second option is.

If the Bulls want Rose healthy for a deep playoff run, they have to figure out how to eliminate some of his wear and tear.

With Boozer in a diminishing role, the Bulls will need Deng to assert himself more on offense.

Find Richard Hamilton's Role

Sometimes life is just fickle.

One day after I make my case for Richard Hamilton’s importance to the Bulls, he injures his shoulder. 

When healthy, Hamilton provides Chicago with their most reliable scoring option at the shooting guard position and veteran leadership that can’t be discounted. However, he has already missed 25 games due to a variety of leg injuries.

The addition of this shoulder injury will only make things more difficult.

“Rip” has already looked slow this season and is still new to Thibodeau’s offense.

As of right now, there is no timetable for his return, but even when he does, the coaching staff will have to figure out his role on the team.

Do they want him to continue as a starter?  Or would he be better served coming off the bench?  Should they find a replacement before the March 15 trade deadline?  If they do, where does that leave him?

Needless to say, Hamilton’s future with the team remains unclear.  The sooner the Bulls figure it out, the better off they’ll be.

Allow Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer More Playing Time

If the Bulls can’t find a replacement for Hamilton via trade, then the only solution is to look within.

As of right now, Both Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer average over 21 minutes of playing time off the bench.  The two are valuable weapons and allow Coach Thibodeau numerous lineup options.

As the team’s three-point specialist, Korver can provide an offensive spark at any given moment, while Brewer has the athletic ability to hound the opposing team’s best perimeter scorer.

As individuals, they play an integral role in the Bulls’ late-game plans.

You will often see the two being subbed for each other in offense-for-defense situations and vice versa; however, if Chicago can remain in the lead for the league’s best record, maybe it’s time to experiment with both of them on the court.

As long as the outcome of the game isn’t in jeopardy, the Bulls should increase the amount of minutes that Korver and Brewer share.  Their varying skills and unselfish styles of play act as perfect compliments to Rose and Boozer.

The two role players have averages in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and turnovers that are separated by one or less.

Even if this little experiment has negative results, it will provide Thibodeau and his staff some extra clarity heading into the postseason.

Give Taj Gibson More Playing Time

I hate to pick on Boozer, but his struggles fall on both sides of the ball.

Taj Gibson has already proven to be a more reliable defender than his teammate, but lacks the offensive repertoire to earn him extensive minutes.  He does posses the ability to hit the mid-range jumper, except he doesn't do it consistently.

If Gibson can develop a reliable post-move and a semi-reliable jumper, he should definitely overtake the starting power forward position.

Even if he doesn't, he will gain valuable learning experience and is still certain to factor into Chicago's playoff run.

The case for the third-year pro is that he has more untapped potential and room to grow when compared to his 10th-year teammate.

Find Someone Else Who Can Run the Offense

When Derrick Rose takes a breather, the Bulls' offense has a tendency to do the same.

Without their leader, the team goes through offensive stretches of stagnancy.  Since no one is able to attack the basket with the consistency of Rose, the team becomes more reliant on jump shots.

C.J. Watson and John Lucas are the primary ball-handlers when Rose takes a seat.  I believe the team would be in better hands if one of them learns to mimic Rose’s style of aggressive distributor amongst the second unit.

Some may think that this will compromise the integrity of Thibodeau’s offense, but it also may do wonders.

By having two point guards who are in “attack mode”, it keeps the pressure on defenses throughout the entire game.  It can also wear down defenders and cause more foul problems for opposing post players.

Since Watson and Lucas both shoot around 80 percent from the free-throw line, not only might this option be a more reliable way for the Bulls to score points, but it would also slow the game down as Rose regained energy.

Continued Strong Bench Play

A reason why the Bulls have been able to sustain the battles with injuries is due to their tremendous depth.

The ability to insert Gibson and Brewer for defensive situations is a luxury that can’t be overlooked and is well utilized in Thibodeau’s game plan.

As the playoffs near, it will be imperative for the team to enter at maximum health.

This might mean a decrease in starter minutes, which would lead to an obvious increase of playing time for the bench.

For a team that plans on contending for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, it’s imperative that their bench doesn’t slip up and cost them any winnable games.

If their record allows, Chicago would be wise to rest Rose for some games to close the regular season.  His battles with back spasms and turf toe should be a major concern for a team with championship aspirations.

Not only would this give Chicago a chance to determine their second point-guard leader, but also an opportunity to…

Solidify the Playoff Rotation

What works during the regular season isn’t guaranteed to produce the same results as the postseason.

There are currently a dozen players on the Bulls roster who average at least 12 minutes of playing time.

This number will definitely shrink come playoff time.

Since the final roster isn’t even set yet, it’s impossible to know the final rotations.  Look for more clarity to develop once the team diagnoses Hamilton’s shoulder injury.