Dissecting Bulls' disastrous third quarter vs. Pelicans
When the Bulls review their mistakes from Wednesday's loss at New Orleans, hopefully coach Jim Boylen will keep the sound up and use video from the Pelicans' broadcast.
While the Bulls' defense was picked apart late in the third quarter, Pelicans analyst Antonio Daniels described it all. As Brandon Ingram ran a pick-and-roll, then kicked it out to Nickeil Alexander-Walker for a 3-pointer that put New Orleans up by 17, Daniels said forcefully, "Here comes the hard show. They're going to give something up."
When rookie center Jaxson Hayes set a high screen, then rolled to the basket for some uncontested buckets, Daniels said, "That's going to be open all day."
Daniels did a nice job, but he was describing the obvious. Here are a few observations from the Bulls' dismal third quarter, when they were outscored 44-27 on the way to their fifth straight loss.
• Boylen's aggressive defense has a low margin for error.
As Bulls fans surely noticed a long time ago, the plan this season is to aggressively double-team the ball on screen-and-rolls. For that to work, the other three players on the floor need to slide, help and challenge shooters. Generally, the goal is to prevent the opponent from getting an open shot right away and buying a few seconds for the double-teamers to get back to where they belong on defense.
There were a ton of growing pains early in the season. Boylen stuck with it because he believed it fit the Bulls' personnel and in time, it could be effective. And it was, as the Bulls moved into top 5 in the league in defensive rating.
During this current run of playing better teams, though, the Bulls' defense has fallen off. Teams know what to expect and good players are executing. Also, success depends on the Bulls playing with high energy and hustling around the court. If they get tired and slow down, it doesn't work.
• Wendell Carter is a big loss. Carter is only in his second season, but he has a very high basketball IQ. He's adept at being in the right spot and using good body position.
Carter hadn't missed a game this season until Wednesday, and he'll likely be sidelined for a few weeks with the high ankle sprain suffered on Monday against Dallas. This will be a huge test for everyone else to try to anchor the defense and succeed without him.
• The final six minutes of the third quarter was the problem. The Bulls trailed 65-64 with 6:33 remaining after Thad Young hit a 3-pointer. New Orleans called time out and the Bulls made a couple of subs, sending Chandler Hutchison and Daniel Gafford in for Young and Lauri Markkanen.
The next few minutes with two rookies (Gafford and Coby White), plus Hutchison on the floor went poorly. Hayes went unguarded a couple of times on rolls to the basket. Brandon Ingram jumped over Hutchison for an offensive rebound and basket off a missed free throw.
The final minute was also rough as the Pelicans pushed their lead from 12 to 17 with an easy Hayes roll, then Ingram's kick out to Alexander-Walker.
• There are too many young players on the Bulls' roster. This issue has been mentioned here plenty of times this season, but it was never more obvious than Wednesday, when the inexperienced lineup floundered in the third quarter.
Hutchison might be a good player some day, but right now he needs to spend a month in the G-League. New Orleans used a nice mix of veterans with J.J. Redick, E'Twaun Moore and Derrick Favors, and that's a huge advantage against the Bulls.
• It might be time for a change. My suggestions are to be ready to call off the trapping defense, if the Bulls are losing energy or have too many young players on the floor. Pick-and-rolls are rarely easy to defend in the NBA, but Boylen may need to shift to a different tactic sometimes.
Also, I'd suggest using Shaq Harrison with the second unit. The Bulls don't have many good offensive players to bring in from the bench, so might as well use the guy who is very good at defense. Maybe he can cause some turnovers and create fast-break chances.
• Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls