As of this writing, the Chicago Bulls are down three games to one in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat. This is happening despite the Bulls having better defense and better depth than Miami. It was presumed that their coaching was better too, with Tom Thibodeau being considerably better than the Heat's Erik Spoelstra, who was thought to be outmatched by the star power on his team. Turns out, this has been a bit unfounded, as Spo has managed to key in on Derrick Rose by using LeBron James and Chris Bosh to double team the MVP and force him into bad shots or to pass to teammates for bad shots or easy shots that miss. Despite Coach Thib's reputation as a master planner and someone who works tirelessly to make adjustments, he has not managed to fully do so. Sure Boozer has managed to start playing better, but Chris Bosh is running train on the Bulls on the other end and he should be the easiest one for Chicago to stop.
In order to win a series against Miami, a team just has to do the following things: Stop Bosh, stop Wade or LeBron, and play efficient offense that doesn't allow the Heat to get on the fast break. Stopping both Wade and LeBron is damn nigh impossible, but keying in on one and then stopping Bosh is definitely within the realm of possibility and Chicago has not managed to do so consistently.
More specific to Chicago's game plan is that Rose needs to get around 25-30 points a game and shoot at a relatively efficient rate (for him). Last night he had 23 points, but he was 8-27 from the field. This whole series he has shot poorly and this is due to the aforementioned Bosh/James double teams that they have not figured out how to work around. The team also needs strong contributions from Boozer and Deng. Last night they delivered by each scoring 20 points, but this was cancelled out by the stinkbomb Rose threw out. They also need a more consistent output from Joakim Noah, but he has really struggled since his 14 rebound performance in the series opener.
While Boozer has played better the past two games, he has really struggled this postseason and most of the second half of the year. He has not managed to be fully integrated into the frontcourt with Noah and has not managed to become the second option that Chicago desperately needed in order to make it this season. Hopefully after a healthy offseason, he can learn to mesh better with the team and develop a better chemistry with Derrick Rose in order to get a better pick and roll game together.
The lack of a shooting guard that can create his own shot has also hurt the Bulls this postseason. Someone like Jason Richardson could have come in handy, as he can shoot the three ball and get to the hoop and take pressure off Rose. Free agent guards this summer include Jamal Crawford, OJ Mayo, Caron Butler, and Richardson and acquiring one of them should be a priority for Chicago. The offense is in dire straits, living or dying with Rose and he needs some kind of help so he doesn't burn out or get injured doing all the work on that end.
I think the biggest issue with Chicago, for better or worse, has been Tom Thibodeau. On the positive side, he managed to lead change the culture in Chicago and make them a relevant team again. On the negative, he has to learn to become a playoff coach. He put so much into the regular season and the team responded by having the best record in the NBA. His intensity and drive really pushed this team into achieving at a higher level than most people expected. The problem is that this same determination has left them ill-equipped for the playoffs. The team had no higher gear for the postseason. Every team they faced had already seen them play their hardest and at the best they are capable of in the regular season. Deng played an absurd amount of minutes during the season and has been unable to keep up that level in the playoffs. Last night, Noah was exhausted. Rose has to be worn down from carrying such a heavy burden all year. Chicago gave it their all most games, even when other teams weren't and this came back to haunt them, as they were not prepared for when teams like Indiana or Atlanta gave more effort than they did during the regular season. For Thibs, his biggest task this offseason is to learn to pace himself and the team better so that they can play more consistently down the stretch when it matters most. If not, he'll end up as Doug Collins 2.0 - a great regular season coach that can get a team headed on the right track, but ultimately too demanding and relentless to push a team over the hump. Whether or not he can do that, we'll see next season (or as a Bulls fan, games 5, 6, and 7, followed by the Finals).
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