Bulls beat Pistons 83-71

Neither CJ Watson nor John Lucas III are as good as Derrick Rose, and opposing teams know it. One of Rose's biggest strengths is his ability to weave through traffic and get to the rim, a skill neither backup possesses.

Because of the distinct difference in maneuverability, opposing defenses play these two much differently than they would the reigning MVP. The primary difference comes with the way bigs hedge in the pick and roll sets.

When the Bulls set up in the half-court offense with either Watson or Lucas, they prefer to run PNR plays with anyone else on the floor except for whoever is playing shooting guard. Ideally, they would then either roll off the screen and take the shot themselves, or would  hit the rolling big for an easy layup.

The defense though is fully aware of what truly isn't a very complicated concept. They are also aware of the previously stated deficiencies, and try to take this play away as much as possible by "hedging" the screener's defender as often as possible. This means that the whoever is guarding the man setting the pick moves up temporarily and faces up the the guard to prevent a dribble drive or a clean passing lane in order to allow for the original defender to recover after the pick.

The problem with this defense though is that it invariably leaves a man open. By hedging off the roller, the defense then opens themselves up for quick outside-in passing. The Bulls learned early on that they would need to fight the hedge or else the majority of their PNR plays would be unsuccessful.

For example, let's say that CJ Watson has the ball on the left elbow and is being guarded by Brandon Knight. Carlos Boozer then picks Knight allowing Watson to go towards the top of the three point arc to his right. Jason Maxiell, Boozer's defender, leaves the rolling Boozer to help on Watson. Again, this temporarily opens up Boozer for a quick pass.

Watson has multiple options in this scenario. If Boozer stops his roll and pops out towards the elbow, Watson can hit him with a quick pass before Maxiell sets up, forcing another player to help on Boozer. This opens up Joakim Noah, Ronnie Brewer or Luol Deng on the baseline, players Boozer consistently finds for easy buckets in this situation.

Another option is for Watson to hit Joakim Noah moving up along the key. Noah would receive the ball near the elbow and have a wide open passing lane to hit the rolling Boozer before the defense had any time to recover.

These are just two of the ways the Bulls try to beat a hedging defense. Though it does not always work as cleanly as intended, they must be able to execute these sets at least until Rose comes back if they want to be successful in the playoffs.

Windy on the Banks Spotlight Player of the Game 


This is a new segment that I will be including after every covered game. This player might not have had the most gaudy box score, but without him the team certainly would've had a much tougher time. Tonight's inaugural WOB Trophy goes to....

Taj Gibson!

Gibson's hard work on the glass and on the defensive end earned him tonight's honors. At one point, he out-muscled two Detroit would-be rebounders for a loose ball and kicked it to an open Kyle Korver in the corner for an open three pointer. This play encapsulated his attitude for the entire game.

"He grabs his hard hat and lunch pail and he just says "gimme your candy!" - Stacey King

Gibson: 8 points, 5 rebounds (3 offensive), 1 block, 0 turnovers, 19 minutes of play