Coach Thibodeau would say after the game:
After two games, this isn't the Bulls team were used to seeing, and not the kind of defense we're hoping to see them play this season.
Instead, Golden State was able to frequently pressure the Bulls into turnovers, and took advantage of a team going through the motions on defense for plays like this:
Golden State would force 8 Chicago turnovers (6 steals) in the first quarter, shooting 62% from the field, on their way to a 30-22 lead. The Bulls did a terrible job of spacing and moving the ball, over dribbling then trying to force longer passes to players out of position.
The worst turnover of the game for me had to be when Kwame Brown snuck up behind and stole the ball from CJ Watson. At no point should the concept of steal be used in a sentence involving Kwame Brown, unless you are talking about how much money he "stole" in his rookie contract as a number one overall draft pick. Kwame would end up with 4 steals for the game!
Defend?
Golden State scored 99 points on 36-77 FGs (46.8 FG% / 49.4 EFG%) on 22 assists (10 by Curry, 7 by Ellis). Not quite.
Rebound?
The Bulls won this battle overall 47 (14 offensive) to 36 (7 offensive), but partially because Golden State shot so well, and the Bulls shot very poorly after the first quarter.
Inside out?
Just looking at the box score might not tell you the whole story, since the Bulls went with a smaller lineup in the 4th to try to rally back with outside shooting and a different look defensively. Otherwise, the Bulls took more shots outside (17 of 43 from 10 feet out and longer) versus inside (17 of 39 from 9 feet to the rim). There were a lot of missed chances inside in the 4th quarter.
Share the ball?
16 assists. The ball movement was terrible most of the game.
Low turnovers?
20 turnovers, but with 8 turnovers in the first quarter, it could have been a lot worse.
With the game getting out of reach, the Bulls went with a lineup of DRose, Watson, Korver, Deng and Gibson with about 8 minutes to go in the 4th, but despite a flurry of 3s from Watson, Korver and even Deng, it was too little too late. Noah, Boozer and Hamilton would not make an appearance in the quarter.
There's no defending how poorly the team played, but it's still a long (although shortened) season. This team isn't so talented that it can decide when to start executing well on offense and defense and just win.
Finally, DRose had this to say:
Time to play. Less facilitating, more playing. He's not the reigning Most Valuable Facilitatator, he's the reigning Most Valuable Player.
Two down, 64 to go.
Hoopdata Box Score:
http://www.hoopdata.com/boxscore.aspx?id=311226009
PopcornMachine BoxScore:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/boxscore.cgi?date=20111226&game=CHIGSW
PopcornMachine GameFlow:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20111226&game=CHIGSW
“Defend, rebound, inside out, share the ball, low turnovers. You have to know who you are.”
After two games, this isn't the Bulls team were used to seeing, and not the kind of defense we're hoping to see them play this season.
Instead, Golden State was able to frequently pressure the Bulls into turnovers, and took advantage of a team going through the motions on defense for plays like this:
Golden State would force 8 Chicago turnovers (6 steals) in the first quarter, shooting 62% from the field, on their way to a 30-22 lead. The Bulls did a terrible job of spacing and moving the ball, over dribbling then trying to force longer passes to players out of position.
The worst turnover of the game for me had to be when Kwame Brown snuck up behind and stole the ball from CJ Watson. At no point should the concept of steal be used in a sentence involving Kwame Brown, unless you are talking about how much money he "stole" in his rookie contract as a number one overall draft pick. Kwame would end up with 4 steals for the game!
Defend?
Golden State scored 99 points on 36-77 FGs (46.8 FG% / 49.4 EFG%) on 22 assists (10 by Curry, 7 by Ellis). Not quite.
Rebound?
The Bulls won this battle overall 47 (14 offensive) to 36 (7 offensive), but partially because Golden State shot so well, and the Bulls shot very poorly after the first quarter.
Inside out?
Just looking at the box score might not tell you the whole story, since the Bulls went with a smaller lineup in the 4th to try to rally back with outside shooting and a different look defensively. Otherwise, the Bulls took more shots outside (17 of 43 from 10 feet out and longer) versus inside (17 of 39 from 9 feet to the rim). There were a lot of missed chances inside in the 4th quarter.
Share the ball?
16 assists. The ball movement was terrible most of the game.
Low turnovers?
20 turnovers, but with 8 turnovers in the first quarter, it could have been a lot worse.
With the game getting out of reach, the Bulls went with a lineup of DRose, Watson, Korver, Deng and Gibson with about 8 minutes to go in the 4th, but despite a flurry of 3s from Watson, Korver and even Deng, it was too little too late. Noah, Boozer and Hamilton would not make an appearance in the quarter.
There's no defending how poorly the team played, but it's still a long (although shortened) season. This team isn't so talented that it can decide when to start executing well on offense and defense and just win.
Finally, DRose had this to say:
“I think in the first quarter I’ve got to establish myself a little bit more. I see that being laid back is just not doing it. I think both games in the first quarter I shot the ball just one or two times. I see that approach is not working. So next game I’ve got to change it up.”
Time to play. Less facilitating, more playing. He's not the reigning Most Valuable Facilitatator, he's the reigning Most Valuable Player.
Two down, 64 to go.
Hoopdata Box Score:
http://www.hoopdata.com/boxscore.aspx?id=311226009
PopcornMachine BoxScore:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/boxscore.cgi?date=20111226&game=CHIGSW
PopcornMachine GameFlow:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20111226&game=CHIGSW