Bulls Run: Why Pistons, Heat Should Be Wary of Chicago

Last week, I claimed that the Pistons and the Heat were the two best teams in the Eastern Conference. ("Detroit or Miami?", Apr. 3rd) In response, a reader challenged me to take a look at the rest of the conference.

A fair enough task, I suppose—especially given some of the events that transpired over the past seven days.

  

We saw Gilbert Arenas go down for the season, officially making the Wizards a lottery team masquerading as a #6 seed. We saw Miami score wins over Cleveland and Toronto, two teams with better records and higher seedings.

 

We also, importantly, saw Chicago lay waste to the Pistons by almost 20 points.

 

Which begs the question: Are the Bulls ready to be mentioned in the same breath as Detroit and Miami?

 

After watching the Bulls destroy the New Jersey Nets on Friday night, the only answer I can give is a resounding yes.  

 

On offense, the Bulls ran two staple plays that grounded the Nets into submission.

The first involved Kirk Hinrich starting at the top of the key and being presented with screens on the right and left high posts. Hinrich would use either screen to jet to the hoop before kicking out to rotating shooters on the perimeter.

The beauty of the set was that it was rarely the first pass that netted shots. The screeners who weren't used would set back screens on the wings to free up players on the weak side. Instead of the Hinrich kick-out, second, third, and even fourth passes broke down the Nets' rotations and left numerous Bulls with open looks.    

The second staple was just as effective. Hinrich would be presented with two wing players on his right and left (often Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, or Thabo Sefolosha) and two forwards in the box (often P.J. Brown, Malik Allen, or Deng). Hinrich would feed the wing player and cut to the basket, and the box player would come out to set a screen.

The simple set created a range of scoring opportunities. If the defender sagged off to protect the back cut, Gordon would turn for a jumper. If the defender didn't show hard on the screen, Sefolosha would drive to the basket. And if the defense switched or rotated, Deng would roll to the pivot to post up whichever overmatched Net attempted to guard him.     

The key to the set's effectiveness lay in its crispness. Passes were quick, movement was constant. It wasn't pass, wait, then cut; it was pass, then cut sharply. It wasn't screen then dally around; it was screen, then roll hard. Or receive the ball, read quickly, then drive or pass immediately.

There was no standing around aimlessly, no overdribbling in place—the execution, put simply, was perfect.    

The Bulls' sharpshooters were left open for three's all game long. Hinrich, Gordon, Seflosha, and Chris Duhon combined to knock down 7 of their 17 shots from long range.

Hinrich's jump shot, intelligence, and deceptive quickness netted him 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists (plus numerous other passes that led to assists for teammates), while Gordon's dead-on shooting and explosive drives were good for 27 points.     

Deng was the only Bull given permission to stand still. In the post, he'd deke his opponents with a variety of fakes and jab steps before setting up for a near-automatic mid-range jumper. Playing the power forward spot, he finished with 24 points and 12 boards.     

Brown and Allen were perfect role players. They did the most moving, often racing from one box to the opposite wing to set screens before rolling or popping out. While they didn't score many points (eight between the two of them), their dirty work freed up more dynamic offensive players to put the ball in the basket.

The Chicago defense, meanwhile, was just as sharp as the offense. The Bulls were steadfast in their prevention of dribble-penetration, even on pick-and-rolls.

In the event of a high screen, the Chicago big man would switch off on the dribbler (usually Jason Kidd) while the guard fought through traffic. Brown and Deng's quickness and length were reliable deterrents, forcing Kidd to go back the way he came. And when Kidd dished it off to the perimeter, Chicago's textbook rotations funneled the ball to Antoine Wright and dared the youngster to make plays.

The result: Wright was harried into a 4-9 shooting day (1-4 from downtown) with five turnovers.

Chicago's defenders only turned their heads once (Hinrich allowed Vince Carter to slip backdoor for a layup), meaning that the Nets had to work for every shot they took. As a whole, the Bulls forced the Nets to shoot 34 percent from the field and commit 16 turnovers. Defensive numbers like that will spell success if they can be duplicated in the playoffs.     

The most telling figures of all, though, were the hustle stats: Eight steals, eight blocks, 13 offensive rebounds—and, by my estimation, a dozen or so loose balls saved from going out of bounds.

While I disagree with some of his grammar-school rules, there is no doubt that Scott Skiles has molded the Bulls into his ideal team: smart, defense-oriented, and committed to playing the full 48 minutes.

Against the Nets, the Bulls were without four key injured players. Instead of moping and whining about it (like another New York metropolitan area team), Chicago simply competed with what they had—a winning attitude for a winning team.     

So, to get back to the original issue: Are the Pistons and the Heat clearly the best teams in the East?

No. Not the way the Bulls are playing.     

That said, I'd still give the edge to Detroit and Miami over Chicago, for several reasons.

First, while Ben Wallace is an elite defensive force in the league, can he stop a rejuvenated Shaquille O'Neal? If not, P.J. Brown, Malik Allen, and Luol Deng don't have the strength to deal with Shaq, and Michael Sweetney doesn't have the size.

Second, the Bulls' offense is totally reliant on perimeter shooting. Teams with good defensive players (such as Detroit's Tayshaun Prince) can sometimes neutralize Ben Gordon, and teams with good rotations can close on the Bulls' outside shooters.

The Bulls' lack of frontcourt players with the ability pop a jump shot (Brown and Allen were a combined 3-14) or play effectively in the post will also make it easier for a good defensive team to adapt to the their screens and motion. Still, though, Bulls fans can take solace in this much:

Last week, there were two formidable teams in the East. Now there are three.