Addressing the Hansbrough problem

Arlington Heights native Dave Corzine went to the NBA Finals with the Washington Bullets as a rookie in 1979, then wrapped up his five-year Bulls career with a trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 1989. He will provide some insight throughout the Bulls playoff run.

Q: One of the matchups that seemed to go against the Bulls in Game 1 was Indiana’s Tyler Hansbrough outscoring Carlos Boozer 16-2 in the second half. When you played, how would you handle the challenge of having to defend a quicker player who can also knock down outside shots?

A: As an individual, if you’re matched up in a situation like that where you know you’re giving up quickness, your best tactic is try to control which way he goes, at least. If you can force him into your help or into the baseline or whatever the team concept is they want to apply, at least to cut down his options.

If he’s hitting jump shots, you have to go out and contest the jump shot. You can do that and yet force him to go either left or right as you close out on one side or the other. Then your team’s going to have to be ready to step up and rotate.

I think as a coaching decision, you have to decide how you want to play that, how much you want to help off other players. (Tom Thibodeau) has got a decent amount of big guys that they can run through and try different people and see if anybody’s successful.

Q: What other adjustments will the Bulls need to make after barely surviving Game 1?A: The defensive adjustments from game to game in the playoffs are what are critical. The Pacers shot the ball really well. They#146;re going to have to look at controlling the perimeter shooting a little bit better and force them to put the ball down (and dribble) or throw it inside. Their big guys didn#146;t hurt us in post situations that much.