NBA Playoffs 2011: Is Carlos Boozer's Offense Worth His Lack of Defense?

After knocking off the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks, the top-seeded Chicago Bulls find themselves just one game away from elimination against the Miami Heat in this year's 2011 NBA playoffs.

Much of the blame for the 1-3 deficit to LeBron James and the Miami Heat has been the inconsistent play of MVP Derrick Rose—and to an extent, rightfully so. In his last three games, all of which resulted in losses for the Bulls, Rose has shot just 23-of-69 from the field while dishing out a combined 19 assists and 11 turnovers.

When Rose makes shots and gets the Bulls offense going, there are few teams in the league that can stop this team. The team wins games with tough half-court defense and transitions buckets that come as a result of steals and blocked shots, which are situations that the 2011 NBA MVP thrives in.

Yet there is another factor to consider. Is it in fact that Rose is the single reason for the Bulls' three-game skid? Or is there another component that has been missing for the Chicago Bulls in this series against the Miami Heat?

Another issue people fail to consider is that as much offense as a player like Carlos Boozer brings to the table, he also has a tendency to shy away from lockdown man-to-man defense.

The problem: It has allowed all-star Chris Bosh to get hot offensively and make the Bulls pay defensively as a result.

Despite averaging a double-double against the Heat with 16.8 points and 11.3 rebounds a game, Boozer has shown difficulty slowing down Heat forward Chris Bosh. In four games against the Chicago Bulls this series, Bosh is averaging 24 points per game while shooting 63.6 percent from the field.

Over 63 percent shooting? Really?

It should also be noted however that Noah does share some of the blame, in that he has had his share of responsibility of guarding Chris Bosh this series as well.

Then there are instances where LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are uncontested at the rim, again going on the shoulders of Boozer, who has seemed to make no effort whatsoever at stepping in the lane when they attack the basket.

Most would counter-argue and certainly could make is that Boozer grabs 11.3 rebounds per game.

Yet there is one thing to consider: high rebounding numbers does not necessarily back up the argument that a player is a "good" defender.

Putting up rebounds is, for the most part, an accomplishment earned on the defensive end. Yet, in the case of Boozer, there are a plethora of cases in which tough initial defense is made. What was once tough initial defense then shortly after becomes "force-you-to-shoot" defense, which is the type of defense that Bosh, James and even Haslem can hit consistently when faced with it.

When it's all said and done, make no mistake: putting up 16 points per game and scoring 26 and 20 in his last two games are quality numbers for Boozer offensively.

In no way does a team like the Bulls part ways with an offensive talent like a Carlos Boozer. At the end of the day, a plethora of offense and soft defense from Boozer might just be a telling factor as to why the Bulls find themselves in down 3-1 in this best-of-seven matchup.