Chicago Bulls: 3 Ways Tom Thibodeau Can Effectively Mask Carlos Boozer's Defense

During the 2010-11 season, it was clear that Carlos Boozer hurt the Chicago Bulls on defense. Even though he tried, he was too often a step behind and just a little too short to guard the average NBA power forward.

For the future, this is a problem.

But not to worry. The Chicago Bulls have defensive mastermind Tom Thibodeau at the helm. There are many ways to cover up a bad defender, and Thibs is one of the best at it.

How can he do that?

Play Him Next to Great Defenders

The easiest way to cover up Carlos Boozer is by playing him next to guys who can make up for him.

Chicago is one of the teams in the NBA who can do this most effectively, since they have four big guys who can do this to some extent: Joakim Noah, Omer Asik, Taj Gibson and Kurt Thomas.

These guys are all known for their defense. They would all be great to play next to Boozer.

As long as you are able to keep one of these players next to Boozer at all times, you are able to offset some of Boozer's poor effectiveness.

Bring Him off the Bench

Bringing Boozer off the bench is an idea that I've entertained for a long time.

When Derrick Rose is in the game, there's not really a whole lot of use for Carlos Boozer. Rose can create offense not only for himself, but for others. Boozer, on the other hand, is a player who can work off a point guard, but also has the ability to create his own offense, and that's not a skill that's being utilized enough.

A way to maximize Boozer might actually be to bring him off the bench. The second unit lacks a scoring punch, and Boozer might be able to bring that.

The main reason to bring Booz off the bench is to hide his defense. The so-called "Bench Mob" was one of the best defensive rotations in the league last year. Substituting Carlos Boozer for Taj Gibson would be a way to even out the offense and defense in the starting lineup and off the bench.

Perhaps if you remove Boozer from the starting lineup, you can put in Kyle Korver at shooting guard, and there would only be one defensive liability in the starting lineup. And since Korver is a perimeter player, it wouldn't hurt as much.

Sit Him in Crunch Time

In crunch time, it might actually be beneficial to take Carlos Boozer off the floor. 

Why would that be? Don't you want to have your best players on the floor when it matters most? Maybe not.

Here's the thing: in crunch time, the ball is ALWAYS in the hands of Derrick Rose. Any shots that Boozer would get at the end of games are incidental, not offense that Boozer would create. These incidental baskets could be completed by Taj Gibson as well.

At the end of games, you just want players that will make Derrick Rose's job easier in terms of creating space. If Boozer doesn't really do this for you, then perhaps you should play Taj Gibson, who would at least be able to help your team lock down on the defensive end.