Chicago Bulls: How Derrick Rose and Company Have Discovered How to Beat the Heat

Over the last three games without Derrick Rose, the Bulls have gone 2-1, beating the Sixers and the hated Miami Heat. The Bulls have lost games to both of those teams so far this season with Derrick Rose on the floor, but were able to handle both without him. So are the Bulls better without Rose on the floor?

The short answer is absolutely not. 

The Bulls were able to win against their two rivals, but that is not because Rose was out. When you prepare to play the Chicago Bulls, you prepare to guard Derrick Rose, arguably the most dynamic scorer in the NBA since Allen Iverson. For both of these teams, you train your best wing defenders to trap the ball-handler and don't worry so much about who gets the ball out of the Rose double-team. 

The issue for these teams is that when they come to double the ball-handler, usually C.J Watson or John Lucas III, the ball-handler quickly passes out of it instead of trying to make something happen like Derrick Rose would. At some point, the opposition didn't quite know how to stop the Bulls offensively, and the Bulls defense was strong as always. 

While this tactic worked for the Bulls in the last week, it's not a plan that would spell victory against either of these teams in the playoffs. Both of those teams could game plan against the Bulls and easily shut down their limited attack. Even if these teams were to play Chicago again this week, there is no question that both would have a very good chance at beating this Bulls team. 

However, what these games could be is a revelation to beat the Heat in the playoffs. They need to do three things:

Move the Ball

At the end of games, I want the ball in the hands of Derrick Rose; that is not even a question. I hope that he is able to finish out games, and I'll live with whatever he gives us. However, in order to make his job easier, the Bulls need to make sure that they have other players going as well. 

The biggest issue in the playoffs last year with the Bulls was that the they were making things too difficult for themselves. Through the early, middle and end of the game, the ball was going to the basket through Derrick Rose. While this isn't the worst plan, you want to try and get the ball moving around. 

The reason that the Heat had so much trouble against the Bulls on Wednesday, was because the whole team was firing. By the end of the game, you had six players in double figures, including five of them between 11 and 14 points. If you can get around 12 points from five different guys in addition to Derrick Rose dropping 25 or so on you, then you're in a great position. 

As well, last season in the Eastern Conference finals, Rose averaged under seven assists a game. That was not how the Bulls won 62 games. If the Bulls kept doing what they did all season long, they could have beat the Heat. 

Use Your Depth

In the playoffs, it is fairly commonplace to see a team's star players play over 40 minutes a game, and that was true of Rose and Luol Deng as well. This is quite normal, but it's the wrong decision for this team. 

The greatest part about this team is their depth, and head coach Tom Thibodeau did not utilize it enough in the playoffs. In each game, only the shooting guard of the bench mob received a significant amount of playing time in the Eastern Conference finals, and that's not how the Bulls won during the season. 

Unlike most teams, who have a second rotation for the sole reason of resting their stars, the Bulls' bench mob gives them a different look on the court. The team isn't as effective offensively, but the bench mob was the single best, five-man defensive rotation in the league last season. The best. These guys were shutting down starters. If Thibs had used his depth more, it would have saved Rose and Deng for the stretch run, and messed with Miami's offense. 

Knock Down Three-Pointers 

In the win against the Heat, the Bulls just flat out knocked down three-pointers. In all, they knocked down 10 out of 19 attempts, and that was huge for the Bulls. I was attending the game, and the crowd really started to believe this team could beat the Heat without Rose, when Korver knocked down some threes.

When the Bulls knock down three-pointers, it just gives the whole team and crowd confidence. As well, it opens lanes for Derrick Rose to get to the basket in big-time situations like at the end of games against the Heat. With that extra attention, Rose's teammates should give him confidence to finish in the fourth quarter. There is no way that you should expect the Bulls to hit 50 percent of their threes again, but you would like to see them hit at least 35 percent of their threes to put some pressure on the defense—not just 30 percent like they did in the ECF. 

Rebound

The Bulls' one huge advantage that they should have over the Heat is their rebounding. In their starting lineup, they have four guys who are above-average rebounders at their position: Rose, Deng, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah. None of these guys put up absolutely insane stats, but a lot of the time it's because there just aren't enough rebounds to go around. In fact, this season the Bulls are pulling down the most rebounds in the NBA. 

During the series, they out-rebounded the Heat, but it wasn't by much. Most of the out-rebounding came in the Game 1 win. In Wednesday's game, the Bulls out-rebounded the Heat by 16 boards. It's a tall order to repeat, but it's one that is absolutely doable, especially with the great rebounding frontcourt of Boozer and Noah. The key is for Noah to wreak havoc and create rebounds for his teammates like he has the ability to do. 

Rebounding the ball gives the Bulls extra opportunities, prevents easy baskets for the Heat and lessens the time of possession for Miami; all elements that are crucial to Miami's game plan. If the team can hustle like we know they have the ability to do, they can beat Miami.