Bulls on the road looking for their defense

During Friday's ESPN broadcast of the Bulls-Mavericks game in Dallas, analyst Jeff Van Gundy, when he wasn't criticizing Bulls management for not supporting coach Tom Thibodeau, sang the praises of his former assistant.

"You know when you work with a guy for so long," said Van Gundy, who hired Thibodeau for his staff in New York and Houston. "He was the best coach on our staff, me included. And I always knew that. He has done such a good job here.

"Unfortunately, these last three playoffs have been disrupted by injury. But he came to the Bulls at a time where mediocrity reigned. They had struggled for a long time; they were basically a .500 team. Along with the emergence of some players, he's taken it to elite status."

OK, Thibodeau has clearly pushed the Bulls to higher levels of contention during his five seasons as head coach. But can he resolve the Bulls' current perplexing problems?

They've been pretty average at home this season, especially against sub-. 500 teams. Sunday's 96-84 loss to Miami was their sixth home defeat to a team currently sporting a losing record.

Fortunately for the Bulls, their next six games are on the road. Unfortunately, the trip begins Tuesday at Golden State, which owns the NBA's best record, along with 19 straight home wins.

"Any loss is disappointing," Thibodeau said after Sunday's game. "You want to learn from it, and we can't look at the length of a road trip. You just concentrate on the next game. We know how good Golden State is. We've got to be ready."

The Bulls have been tough to figure out this season. They won 13 of 15 games, beginning in late December, then lost six of their next eight. After a team meeting seemed to clear the air, the Bulls beat San Antonio and Dallas on consecutive nights last week, then turned in another homecourt clunker against the Heat.

"We've got to figure it out. We've got to be consistent," Thibodeau said. "We've got to be consistent with our preparation, and that's the best way to build consistency. You usually do that through repetition, and we're capable of doing that."

The Bulls are hoping to have a healthy lineup soon. Joakim Noah played in the last two games after missing four with a right-ankle injury. But he wasn't very effective against Miami, finishing with 4 points and 5 rebounds in 22 minutes.

Mike Dunleavy missed his 13th straight game with a right-ankle injury and is hoping to return sometime during the trip.

The biggest issue facing the Bulls these days, though, is the disappearance of their defense. Consider this massive swing:

From the start of the season until Dec. 31, the Bulls ranked fifth in the league in opponents' field-goal percentage at .433, according to nba.com. Since Jan. 1, the Bulls rank 26th in the same category at .464.

How did that happen? It's easy to think Noah is vital to success of the defense. But the Bulls are 7-4 in the games Noah missed.

The January slump coincided roughly with Dunleavy's injury. Even though he's not a stellar individual defender, Dunleavy is a smart veteran who knows what to do. Maybe his presence makes his teammates sharper.

The most likely explanation is teams have figured out how to attack the Bulls' weak spots. They're making Pau Gasol move away from the basket, and he's not good at recovering to protect the lane.

In December, rookie Nikola Mirotic was becoming a dangerous weapon with his 3-point shooting, but opponents have been forcing him to guard pick-and-rolls, a new experience for the former Real Madrid star.

Then there's the changing lineups. Thibodeau has gone back and forth between Kirk Hinrich and Tony Snell as Dunleavy's replacement. Quite often, the Bulls need more offense and turn to the small backcourt of Aaron Brooks with Derrick Rose, which creates some defensive challenges.

The Bulls seem to lose focus at home, especially when there's not a strong opponent to grab their attention. That won't be a problem Tuesday in Oakland. The Warriors, under first-year coach Steve Kerr, finished the first half at 35-6, which means they're on pace for 70 wins.

On Friday, Golden State shooting guard Klay Thompson set an NBA record by scoring 37 points in the third quarter. He finished with 52.

"They're a very difficult matchup," Gasol said. "They move the ball well, they play very up-tempo. It's a very tough matchup for anyone. Let's see if we can impose our game. It's the type of team where you have to play your game, control the tempo, make them pay for the mismatches and then try to contain their guards."

Simply playing their best should be the Bulls' primary goal at Golden State.

• Get the latest Bulls news via Twitter by following @McGrawDHBulls.