Bulls' Rose still getting used to seeing double

Former New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank replaced Tom Thibodeau as Boston's top assistant, and Friday against the Bulls, Frank made no attempt to disguise the Celtics' defensive intentions.

Two players, or more, guarding Derrick Rose every trip down the floor.

“Every time I come off a pick, it's a double-team,” Rose said after Friday's overtime loss in Boston. “They're making me pass the ball. I think on the last possession, they came all the way to the half-court line to double-team me.

“I'm not used to it. I know Thibs is going to have something for that and we're going to be ready next game.”

Rose already knows how to handle these strategies, and the evidence is in the statistics. In the last three games Rose has averaged 12 assists. In his first two NBA seasons he was at 6.2 assists.

But things aren't always working as well as they should. Good NBA teams score with ease when opponents double on defense. In fact, that's the basis of many offensive plans around the league.

“Anytime you get two on the ball, it should be easy offense for you,” Thibodeau said. “Sometimes it's the willingness of that player to make the play. That's what I do like about what Derrick's doing. He's scoring for us, he's pushing the pace of the game and he's making he right play when he's double-teamed.”

Some of the Bulls' problems can be explained by their youth and lack of cohesion. They also don't shoot well from 3-point range (33.8 percent) and have a starter at shooting guard, Keith Bogans, who averages 3.2 points per game.

The Bulls big men actually did a nice job as spot-up shooters. Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson knocked down 8 jumpers between them.

The Bulls couldn't deliver a 3-point basket, though, until C.J. Watson finally hit one with 5:44 remaining in the fourth quarter. Late in the game, Luol Deng drained a couple of clutch 3-pointers and Kyle Korver made one in overtime.

Bogans doesn't shoot very often and rarely attacks the basket when the ball is swung to him on the perimeter. He does excel in doing the dirty work, as evidenced in the Boston game when he had 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

Korver probably is the Bulls' best shooter, but he lost his man defensively on a couple of occasions in overtime. One possible alternative is Ronnie Brewer, who had 7 points and a nice steal against the Celtics.

Brewer doesn't shoot as well as Korver and may not defend as well as Bogans, but he can offer a mix of both skills when healthy. Brewer got off to a slow start after missing the first two weeks of training camp with a sore hamstring.

“I thought Ronnie is getting his timing back, so that helps a lot,” Thibodeau said. “Each game, you're finding out more. We've got to continue to look at different combinations and see who works best with whom.”

One thing the Bulls can count on Monday when they host Denver is a crowd of defenders trying to stay with Rose. Through Friday's games, Rose ranked fifth in the league in scoring (25 points) and fourth in assists (9.8).

And as Thibodeau pointed out after the Boston game, offense is not the Bulls' biggest problem right now.

“Offensively, we're scoring the ball,” he said. “I'm not as concerned right now about our offense as much as our defense. To be a quality team, we have to be much better defensively.”