Sunday, April 17, 2011

Thrilling win, but...

I want to return to the subject of Carlos Boozer, because this is a bit of a problem here.

The guy just doesn't try on defense. It's not poor technique. It's not a physical limitation. He just doesn't give the effort.

He needs to head to the bench, where he can be the scoring anchor for the Bench Mob and presumably face an opposing power forward who doesn't have the skill level to impose his will on Boozer the way Psycho T has been able to. And the other team's bench won't be able to quite so routinely exploit Boozer's indifference when it comes to rotation and protecting the rim.

This is a test not of Tom Thibodeau's technical skills but of his leadership. You can teach technique. And Boozer is a smart guy who could grasp anything he's taught.

This is about motivating action from your highest paid player. A message needs to be sent: play the right way or you'll play less.

I can add no more superlatives to what has been said about yet another incredible, Jordanesque display from Derrick Rose. It has all been said. He is the NBA's top "closer" right now and has run away with the MVP award. That's all over but the shouting.

But in the wake of that news, we also saw two Bulls who have a history in their young careers of elevating their play in the playoffs - Joakim Noah and Luol Deng - dig in at crunch time and do the dirty work.

Noah and Deng each turned in double-doubles. Noah grabbed a stellar EIGHT offensive rebounds in the game. Deng delivered his with an efficient 18 points, as well as flashing a rare (and thus believably authentic) display of emotion in accosting Hansbrough after his hard foul on Rose, and waving his arms to fire up the crowd.

Deng and Noah each ratcheted up his defense to another level, with Deng clamping down and making sure Danny Granger was done in the 4th quarter, while Noah did what Boozer would not: guard the rim with ferocity.

A quick question for whatever remaining Carmelophiles are out there - those who would have parted with Deng and Noah for Anthony:

Do the Bulls win Game 1 with Carmelo instead of Deng and Noah? After all, the game-ending 16-1 run... that wasn't just Rose scoring and distributing. That was the Bulls getting stops. Do those stops get made if your two best defenders aren't here but a defensive liability like 'Melo is?

And would you have wanted any confusion on who has the ball in his hands at the end of a game? This tension, this uncertainty, has cost Miami some games this year, not knowing if their closer is LeBron or Wade.

In many ways, this unnecessarily-difficult Game 1 win over the East's #8 seed was a (partial) triumph for the architects of this team. Kyle Korver hit THE shot he was brought here to knock down: the open three pointer when every Pacer including Rik Smits and Haywoode Workman collapsed on Derrick. And if Tom Thibodeau is the brain, then Joakim Noah and Luol Deng are the beating heart of the Bulls' defense, and in crunch time they stepped up and played big-boy, NBA playoff D. They were, I dare say, grown-ass men.

But Thibodeau needs to find a way to transform his big free agent catch, Carlos Boozer, into a net positive on the floor at playoff time. His defensive issues are so acute that if he doesn't give you close to 20 & 10, he's a liability out there.

What a leader values, the organization values. Any members of the organization who don't share the same values get thrown out of the boat. The time has come for Boozer to be shown - in the form of a reduction of his role until he gets the message (gets the memo?) - how things get done.

Cue up the Alan Parsons Project - it's time to introduce a 6'10" forward from USC...

No comments:

Post a Comment