Chicago Bulls Must Continue To Fight Versatility With Versatility

The euphoric residue left over from Game 1 quickly subsided at the United Center when the Chicago Bulls scored a franchise playoff-low 11 first quarter points this past Monday night.

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More alarmingly, the goodwill Derrick Rose had earned during the initial game of the series — where turned the clock back to 2011 and morphed into MVP D-Rose — diminished simultaneously, as the unforced turnovers in the open court and his shoddy spot-up three-point shooting had seemingly reared its ugly head.

The Milwaukee Bucks, on the other hand, had found the perfect antidote to stifle the Bulls’ multi-pronged attack.

Specifically, they overwhelmed Chicago with their unforgiving length and versatility — blitzing their high pick-and-roll efforts, utilizing their like-sized lineup to switch all off-ball screens 1-through-4, and hard digging Pau Gasol every time he touched the ball on the low block.

Take for instance, the following example. Note how clogged the paint is and how hard Michael Carter-Williams is digging down on Gasol:

The Bulls, similarly, also switched all screen actions 1-through-4. However, with their jumbo-sized lineup, featuring Joakim Noah at the power forward position, switching their near 7-foot 4 man out onto Khris Middleton is much less appetizing and practical when compared to the Bucks switching Ersan Ilyasova out onto Mike Dunleavy Jr.

To make matters worse, the traditional lineup coach Tom Thibodeau stubbornly stuck with for the entirety of the first quarter demolished their precious spacing on the offensive end of the floor.

With Milwaukee consciously packing the paint and clogging all driving lanes, the Bulls struggled to curate easy scoring opportunities. The perverse pairing of Noah and Gasol compounded their dire situation, giving their perimeter trio of Dunleavy, Rose, and Jimmy Butler little to no breathing space to operate.

As you can see through the following clip, Chicago’s oversized lineup allowed Milwaukee to aggressively play the ball, pack the boxes and elbows, switch the screen-and-roll with ease, while remaining within an arm’s length of closing out on their poorly spaced outside shooters:

To start the second quarter, Thibodeau would march on with his behemoth formations, trotting out a frontcourt of Nikola Mirotic at the 3, Taj Gibson at the 4, and Noah manning the middle at the 5.

In what would be a blessing in disguise, Gibson would pick up two early fouls, which would ultimately sideline the former USC Trojan for the remainder of the half.

With the score at 18-11 during the early stages of the second quarter, Taj in foul trouble and Gasol receiving a much-needed breather, Thibs turned to his small-ball lineup — sliding Niko to the power forward position and inserting Butler back into the contest alongside Tony Snell and Aaron Brooks.

The Bulls would immediately enjoy the fruits of their newly created spacing labor. To be more specific, the Bulls would go on a 9-3 spurt spearheaded by Noah’s passing and Butler’s off-ball cutting. With the court nice and spread, it gave Jimmy a bevy of open slashing lanes:

Moreover, their small-ball lineup attenuated the Bucks’ blitz-heavy pick-and-roll coverage, giving Noah plenty of free real estate as he received the ball off the flare.

Shortly thereafter, Rose, Gasol, and Dunleavy would check back into the game in place of Brooks, Noah, and Snell. With a lineup of Rose, Butler, Dunleavy, Mirotic, and Gasol, the Bulls’ offense savored in the luxury of having five triple threats on the floor at the same time.

Sure enough, the Bulls closed the quarter strong, eradicating their deficit and capturing a 39-38 lead going into halftime.

By the time the second half had commenced, Thibs made several key adjustments to combat the Bucks switch-everything defensive scheme.

For one, they started out the third quarter initiating the majority of their offense through horn sets — having Noah play the role of the facilitator while making a concerted effort of getting the ball into Pau on the move — particularly through cross and/or wedge screens:

Additionally. the Bulls also began to run their high pick-and-roll actions with their 5-man, Gasol, instead of Noah. In doing so, it prevented Rose from having to fight through a hard trap, enabling him free reigns to probe the defense, make the appropriate pass, while wilting the opposition into full-out scramble mode:

The increased ball and man movement also gave both Rose and Butler driving lanes they did not realize during the first quarter:

It also helped that, at the same time, Rose finally found his shooting stroke, nailing two crucial catch-and-shoot threes during said period.

But, even with the adjustments, Milwaukee would continue to asphyxiate the Bulls’ jumbo lineup, as they would reclaim the lead, at 72-71, early on during the fourth quarter.

Thibs would then counter by employing their Mirotic-at-the-4 lineup once again. And not surprisingly, Chicago would immediately rally, going on a 13-2 run over the next four and a half minutes en route to securing the lead and never looking back.

If the game taught us anything, it is this: the Bulls must combat versatility with versatility. The Bucks are not going to miss as many open looks from three or undershoot their target from in close as many times as they did in Game 2.

It took a herculean effort from Butler, who took advantage of the increased spacing, and was an absolute unstoppable force while attacking the rack.

In fact, in addition to his 31-point, nine-rebound, two-steal, and two-block performance, according to NBA.com`s SportVU Data, Butler made all (not a typo) of his field goal attempts on the drive and produced an uncanny 1.6 PPP (points per possession) when taking the ball to the tin on Monday night.

It was also nice to see Rose string along a couple of solid games. While he wasn’t  nearly as spectacular in Game 2, given his shooting struggles early on, Rose still found other ways to contribute — mainly through his ability to defy gravity to find his open teammates while performing his signature double-pump jump passes.

As the series head 92.5 miles north up I-94 to Milwaukee, the Bulls should seek to make the following key adjustments:

• Stagger the lineups and aim to pair Gibson with Gasol, and Noah with Mirotic.
• When the jumbo lineup is in, run more 1-5 pick-and-rolls with Gasol and Rose, as oppose to 1-4 pick-and-rolls featuring Noah.
• In contrast, when the spread lineup is in the game, continue to clear the side for Butler — either on a straight isolation or a side pick-and-roll set. Take for example, the following instances:

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It is also worth noting that while going small for nearly half of the game, the Bulls still managed to manhandle the Bucks, outrebounding the youngest team in the playoffs 64-48 despite experiencing seven fewer rebounding opportunities. In fact, Chicago grabbed 72 percent of the available rebounds presented to them during Game 2.

For all intents and purposes, the next two contests should have a home-court feel as the Bulls are known to have a vocal following at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. But, still, as the old adage goes, the series do not officially start until someone loses on their home court.

With tensions rising — as evident through the Jimmy Butler-O.J. Mayo faceoff and the Nikola Mirotic-Zaza Pachulia slap fight — Chicago would be wise to finish the series within the next two games.

If the Bulls can successfully continue to play a pace and space style and mitigate the Bucks’ scrambling, harassing brand of defense, the Bulls should end this in four or five. At this point in time, Milwaukee simply pales in comparison to Chicago talent- and experience-wise.

Looking forward, finishing the series in a timely manner will be imperative as all signs point to an inevitable conference semis clash against the King (LeBron James) and his Cleveland Cavaliers.

Next: 5 Likely First Time NBA All-Stars Next Season

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