Chicago Bulls: 5 In-House Fixes to Maintain Winning Form

During the 2010 offseason, the Chicago Bulls were one of the prime destination spots for some of the biggest available players in free agent history. They had a good young core, an emerging perennial all-star and a boatload of cash to land another superstar to vault them into instant contention. The Bulls management entertained LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, among other headliners.

Chicago was frozen out of the big three sweepstakes when all of the aforementioned names jumped on board with Pat Riley and the Miami Heat. Favorites like Amar’e Stoudemire and David Lee signed with other teams.

The media (and a few fans, too) treated Chicago’s signing of Carlos Boozer as a “take the best of what’s left” deal.

Sentiment attached to the Boozer signing notwithstanding, Gus Forman and John Paxson went on to sign a bevy of support players to round out the roster. Chicago not only had one of the deepest, most effective benches in the league, they also had a killer defense and surprised the basketball world by winning 60-plus games and securing the overall no. 1 seed for the playoffs.

After the conference finals exit at the hands of the Miami Heat, the banter about the need for legitimate second scoring option became the topic of choice. Many people feel that free agency is the best option for Chicago to fill this void; however, if this work stoppage and the fallout that is bound to follow hamper Chicago’s ability to go after a top-tier shooting guard, here are some in-house improvements that will help keep Chicago at the top of the NBA food chain.

1. Improve Derrick Rose’s Offensive Facilitating

It’s no secret that Derrick Rose is one of the most difficult players to defend. It took a 6’8” freak-of-nature athlete by the name of LeBron James to contain him in the NBA playoffs. While Rose has always put in the effort to improve his individual game, his focus should now start shifting to improving his teammates’ game through his own play.

It would be easy to point out that very few players gave Rose a reason to trust them last year, but I would counter that nothing boosts another player’s confidence (and production) like knowing that the number one guy has faith in you. This facilitating needs to be a little bit more than the usual D-Rose drive and kick and needs to be centered around plays actually drawn up for other players that Rose makes happen.

This will be a monster of a headache for opposing defenses who still have to respect Rose, but now have to worry if the play is going to end with him or someone they had to help off of.

2. Speaking of Offense: Start Developing a Skill Set for Joakim Noah

Noah is my favorite Bull, hands down.

He works hard on the glass, plays great help defense and provides an emotional spark that you can't measure in a box-score. That being said, Noah is also an offensive liability. He’s the guy opposing teams cheat off of in order to put another body on a slashing Rose.

Sure, he can finish on the break and grab offensive rebounds like nobody’s business, but it’s not much help for your offensive threats if the other team doesn’t have to worry about you until someone else puts up a shot.

Noah has improved every year he’s been in the league. He’s averaged double digits in rebounds and points the last two seasons; however, most of those points came from put-backs. There is no excuse for a four-year veteran to have made such little progress offensively.

If he can develop a set that at least keeps his defender honest, imagine what that could do for everyone else on the floor.

3. Keep Kurt Thomas on Staff in Some Form

Kurt Thomas has played professional basketball for seventeen years. No one lasts that long without having something of value to add to a team. Thomas has done an outstanding job mentoring Joakim Noah and it showed this past season. He’s done it willingly and without complaint as it relates to his minutes.

When he did get on the floor in the playoffs, he made the most of his time.

The Bulls have another big man project in Omer Asik. If Kurt wants to hang up his sneakers, management should convince him to trade them in for clipboard and give him reign over Chicago’s big men. The lessons he could impart to Noah and Asik over the course of a training camp and season would prove invaluable.

Making sure Thomas stays around would be one the smartest moves the Bulls could make. He’s respectful, commands respect and has volumes of knowledge to impart.

4. Establish a Little More Pick and Roll

When Chicago signed Carlos Boozer, I made the joke that the offense got a whole lot simpler. If you’re a power forward playing for Jerry Sloan, you better learn three words: Pick and Roll. It is one of the most basic and most effective plays in basketball.

The Bulls could run it well with Rose, Deng and Boozer in any combination. Plus, you’d be putting Boozer in comfortable situation that could help keep his offensive game on track.  I’m not saying that the Bulls didn't run it, I am saying that they didn't run it enough nor with much variety. It doesn’t demand a whole lot from your offense, but it does force the defense to make some very difficult choices concerning matchups.

You can even mix it up with your bench players. Imagine having to make the choice to switch on a quick CJ Watson or leaving him and letting Kyle Korver get a clean look at the basket. It’s a great go-to play when you want to slow the pace down and still get good looks at the basket.

5. Have Thibodeau Become Less Rigid in His Rotation

One of the things that really frustrated me about Thibs was how he would break up a productive unit to keep with his rotation and minutes management. While those things are essential to good coaching, sometimes the plan has to be deviated from.

Most nights, a coach’s rotation is going to be largely unaffected. He’ll be able to sub like he’s used to and only have to make minor adjustments on the fly. However, there are going to be times where a particular group of players are really producing and Thibs has to decide what’s more important: getting someone in at a certain time or letting the current group continue to produce for the team. There will even be situations where the usual group of guys will not be getting it done and look far from figuring it out. Leaving them in for the sake of rotation continuity doesn’t make much sense in that case as well.

Also, Thibodeau could stand to improve on stealing rest for key players down the stretch. In the closing minutes of games in the Miami series, it was evident that Rose was on the floor a little too long.

In the End...

Chicago still has a pretty good team and will be good for years to come. Most fans are hungry and want a championship now. I am very satisfied with the current team and while I am not opposed to adding a better two-guard to the mix, I am also optimistic about what this team can do if allowed to develop for another season or two.

The older Bulls fans know what it was like to wait seven years for MJ to win his first title. To expect more of Rose and company is a bit unfair.

The Bulls have the goods now. The one thing that is just as important as going after another player is making sure the current crop has it together.