Bulls defense in decline
MILWAUKEE - As of Tuesday morning, the Chicago Bulls still ranked No. 1 in the NBA in defensive field-goal percentage.
Opponents are shooting 42.1 percent against the Bulls. Next on the list are Golden State and San Antonio, the teams with the two best records in the league.
So the Bulls obviously have done some things right defensively this season. But the successful track record makes it tough to understand why they gave up a combined 234 points in losses to Washington and Atlanta.
"Our defensive numbers are still pretty good from that early portion of the season," coach Fred Hoiberg said before Tuesday's game. "It's been disappointing really the last week, so that's what we have to fix.
"It starts really with communication. You have to communicate in transition. You have to communicate in your ball-screen coverages. You've got to talk things out sometimes out there, and we have not done a good enough job or consistent enough job with that.
Here are some numbers to illustrate how the defense has slipped: Since Dec. 18, date of the four-overtime loss to Detroit, the Bulls rank seventh in the league in defensive field-goal percentage at .439.
Since Jan. 3, a span of five games, Bulls rank 14th at .454. Since the opening tip of Saturday's ugly loss in Atlanta, the Bulls rank 27th at .503 (not including Tuesday's game).
Better start for Bulls:
The Bulls had a good start Tuesday in Milwaukee, jumping to an early 17-6 advantage. By halftime, the lead had dwindled to 51-46, but that's still an improvement. The Bulls gave up at least 60 first-half points in four of the previous five games.
Before the contest, coach Fred Hoiberg felt a lack of energy goes hand in hand with the quality of the Bulls' defense.
"That's where it starts. You talk about energy, when you're taking the ball out of the net (after opponents' baskets) as much as we are in the first quarter right now, guys are dropping heads and it's leading to low energy," Hoiberg said.
"This is not a season-long issue that we've had. Its really been the last couple of games. Before that, we were getting off to solid starts. We have to put the last two games behind us, find a way to go out and fight through this stretch."
Battle for the boards:
Rebounds aren't usually a problem for the Bulls, but they were beaten in second-chance points 21-7 by Washington on Monday, their second-worst deficit of the season.
"It's not just the bigs, it's the guards," Fred Hoiberg said. "We've leaked out. We've showed a lot of film on that. We've got to stay at those elbows. Teams are shooting a lot of 3s. With analytics the way they are these days, you have to stay at the elbows on those long ones and find a way to dig (rebounds) out."
Bull horns:
In his second game back from a left-shoulder sprain, Joakim Noah's role stayed constant. He checked in at the 3:40 mark of the first quarter and played nine minutes in the first half, similar to what he did Monday. … Kirk Hinrich got the call Tuesday at backup point guard after not playing against Washington. … Four different Bulls hit 3-pointers in the opening eight minutes Tuesday: Nikola Mirotic, Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose and Tony Snell.