Thibodeau makes it clear: Defense not optional

This isn't fair to Carlos Boozer because he isn't a guy you come to the United Center to watch play defense.

Offense is Boozer's thing, like his 22 points on 15 shots Saturday night in the Bulls' 90-79 victory over Boston.

Yet I did suddenly find myself focusing on Boozer's defense for a spell in the second quarter. That's what happens after the Bulls have a couple bad defensive games and Boozer is atrocious in one of them.

So against the Celtics, wait, look, there's Boozer jumping out to contest a Big Baby Davis jump shot. Hey, there's the Booz Man challenging Shaq O'Neal into blowing a layup.

Not bad. There was some energy there. There was some effort. There was everything that head coach Tom Thibodeau asks of his Bulls.

“I liked the way we played,” Thibodeau said of his team in general.

More significant than just Boozer was the Bulls' overall holding the Celtics to 20 points below their average.

Doc Rivers was asked earlier whether Thibodeau takes defensive lapses personally. The Celtics' coach is an expert on the subject because Thibodeau was his assistant in charge of defense when Boston won an NBA title.

“Any guy who wants his team to be a defensive team,” the Celtics' coach said, “takes every point personally.”

No wonder Thibodeau was unhappy with the way the Bulls lost consecutive games last week to lowly New Jersey and Philadelphia.

“Our last two games ... our mindset has to change,” Thibodeau said before the Bulls went out and stifled Boston.

The Bulls' coach sat Boozer the last 14 minutes of the loss to the Nets. He said it was because of matchups, but it could have been punishment for lax defense.

“We're not going back,” he said with a smile when asked about New Jersey, “we're moving forward.”

Thibodeau is a coach who doesn't tolerate shabby defense. Earlier in the season, after Boozer avoided taking a charge, his coach called a 20-second timeout and expressed displeasure.

You know, it's refreshing when a coach actually coaches a player when necessary, or as Rivers put it, “You do what's good for the team. There shouldn't be a controversy.”

What happened the other night between Thibodeau and Boozer was part of the process of establishing a culture of defense with the Bulls.

Whether intended or not, making an example of a high-priced, high-scoring, former all-star like Boozer was a signal to the entire team that defense isn't optional.

Boozer is an interesting case. He'll never be a great defensive player but effort will enable him to be a good one.

Thibodeau is fighting the fight. The Bulls signed Boozer for offense and rebounding but that doesn't mean he'll be allowed to default on defense.

“We did a great job on (defense),” Boozer said after beating Boston and then acknowledged, “We were helping each other on every play. We put more into it and we got more out of it.”

The Bulls held the Celtics to 38 percent shooting from the field and Davis, Boozer's counterpart at power forward with Kevin Garnett injured, made only 4 of 17 shots.

“Every aspect of our defense is (based on) five guys being tied together,” Thibodeau said before the game. “We have to get back to five guys tied together.”

The Bulls did that Saturday night and likely know by now that Thibodeau takes it personally when they don't.

mimrem@dailyherald.com