Chicago Bulls Must Get Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer Playing at High Level

The Chicago Bulls have locked up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and have set their sights on the league's overall best record. 

As the Bulls head into the playoffs they will need to establish Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer. Both players have seemed to play better when the other is off the floor. For Boozer, he has had more space to operate on the low block, and for Noah, he has more space to crash the offensive glass.

During the playoffs, both players will need to be at full impact for the Bulls to sustain a long run into late May and June. 

Although there may not be one particular reason why each player seems to play better when the other is off the court, there are a few ways to improve each player's production.

For Boozer, the biggest reason his scoring in the post is down a little bit when Noah is on the court is because Noah does not stretch the defense out towards 15 feet at all, enabling his defender to sag toward Boozer.

This gives Boozer less space to maneuver in the paint and forces him to face up and take jump shots. Although he can make those jumpers, it is much more important for Boozer to score in the paint. It will open up space for shooters on the perimeter. 

One way to give Boozer more space is to run the offense through Noah in the high post to get Boozer easier looks. He is a tremendous passing big man, one of the best two or three in the league. The Bulls could run an unconventional style of the triangle by having Boozer in the low post, Noah in the high post on the same side and Luol Deng or Kyle Korver on the wing.

This would only work in spurts, but it would create more opportunities for Boozer in the low post. 

In order for Noah to get more involved, the Bulls should try and run the pick-and-roll with Noah. Now, the issue with this is that Derrick Rose is so fast he does not need a screen to get to the basket. This is obviously a great thing for the Bulls, but when the game slows down in the playoffs, the pick-and-roll could be very useful.

If Noah is running the pick-and-roll with Rose it will give him some opportunities for easy layups, should the defense commit to Rose, or it would allow him to crash the offensive glass for put-backs if Rose can get to the basket or shoot a jump shot.

Defensively, Noah is still the anchor down low for the Bulls. He is such a great helpside defender that he will always be active and fully into the games. Offensively, if the Bulls can get him some easy looks and baskets it will provide a spark for the offense.

As the game slows down, the Bulls will need to find ways of getting Boozer easy baskets as well. Boozer does not really give much defensively and the playoffs are where he can make the most of the big contract he signed in the offseason.

If the Bulls can get their top two big men on the same page and fully engaged on both ends of the floor, the Bulls will make a long run into the playoffs this spring.