Offensive deficiency proves to be the downfall of Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls Eastern Conference Finals battle against the Miami Heat has exposed a glaring weakness in Tom Thibodeau’s menacing machine. They struggle on offence. Chicago simply do not have enough talent to overcome a defence
that plays with a tenacity, mirroring their own.
It is astonishing that the Bulls went through such a successful season with the players available. It is also testament to the mastery displayed by head coach Tom Thibodeau, who saw the deficiency in the roster right away, to be
fair everyone did, but he came up with a plan to turn it into an advantage.
Thibodeau drilled the Bulls into a defensive machine. The players, not many of whom had notable talent going forward, appeared willing to follow his every word and the result was the best defence in the league. However, the 62
win season would never have been possible without the league MVP, Derrick Rose.
Chicago grinded teams down all season long and Rose provided the spark to put them away in the end. It’s a pattern that has become a feature of the Bulls, yet it seems to be failing them now, right on the cusp of the NBA Finals.
Chicago have come up against a team that plays almost as hard as they do, and has much more talent. The superstars of the Miami Heat work their socks off every night. The role players inevitably follow suit. This has resulted in
the two defences cancelling each other out.
Apart from the first game, when Miami seemed unprepared for the charging Bulls, this has become a feature of the series. Both teams play hard, physical and defensive basketball, leaving the game on a knife’s edge in the final stretch.
And there, the game is decided by the big guns, star players and clutch performers.
Whatever you want to call them, offensively talented individuals are who decide the outcome in the closing period and Chicago simply cannot match Miami in that department. Chicago have one, Miami have three. Maybe Rose is as good
as LeBron James, or Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh. Maybe he is even better. But as good as Rose is, the “Big Three” are even better.
Strength in numbers is the rule that applies here. Chicago’ one against Miami’s three is just not good odds. With the game winding down, Miami’s strength on offence gives them the advantage every time. A number of players can be
given the ball and trusted to deliver. The Bulls don’t have that liberty. The ball has to go to Derrick Rose and the Heat’s defence invariably converges on him.
Dwyane Wade put it simply, “He is the head of the snake,” “We understand as he [goes], they go. If we can slow him a little bit then that is what we want to do.”
Miami just don’t have much of a plan to make. Their instructions are simple. Make Rose’s life h**l. He is challenged on every possession, double teamed, hounded and blocked. The Heat use different players on him and that too in
different schemes. They know that if they will give Rose different looks after every few minutes, he will be rattled. Do that and Chicago will falter. The Heat have taken this to heart. They toil hard all game, in every game and they know that when push comes
to shove, their offensive advantage will lead them to victory. It worked in game-2, in game-3 and game-4 and then in game-5, when Heat chocked Rose down the stretch and delivered a knockout punch to the Bulls by overcoming a 12-point deficit in the last three
minutes.
Rose and Thibodeau have perhaps carried this Bulls side as far as they can go. For all their admirable effort on defence, their hard work and grit, the players on Chicago’s roster are not very proficient at doing what basketball
is basically about. Putting the ball through the rim.
Thibodeau seriously needs to shore this huge void in his arsenal, come the next regular season. The Bulls need more help up front; they just cannot expect a young guard to keep delivering for them again and again.
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