Say what you will about the Bulls' defense, but they're certainly a pestering group.
"Chicago's a feisty team," Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts put it after Portland's dismantling of the Bulls at the United Center on Monday. And feisty feels an apt word. The Bulls currently lead the league in steals (9.6) and opponent turnovers (18.7) per game, and every Bulls opponent through the first 18 games of the season has committed at least 15 turnovers — the longest such streak for the team since 1973.
Part of that has to be attributed to Jim Boylen's defensive philosophy. The Bulls are notorious for blitzing pick-and-rolls and jumping passing lanes, a strategy that has generated a ton of turnovers, but has also at times revealed glaring issues staying connected on the back-end of rotations.
"We’re still developing our defense. We have a young team that is learning how to play in a system that we haven’t played in, I’m encouraged by our effort defensively," Boylen said in advance of the Bulls' Wednesday night matchup with the Warriors. "I think it’s interesting that we’re number one in the league in steals and we never coach to steal the ball, I don’t talk about stealing the ball. I talk about being in the right position and having people play through our hands."
Boylen has repeatedly said that he values proper positioning over irresponsible aggressiveness on the defensive side of the ball. Still, in spite of the gaudy steals stats, the Bulls sport the 15th-rated defense in the league.
"Where we have to improve and grow is the ability to shift and close, so help and close, help and contest, help close contest and contain,” Boylen acknowledged.
But Boylen has no plans to change the way his team plays. In fact, in highlighting the virtues and deficiencies of the Bulls' defense, Boylen revealed an interesting nugget about where he derives his general philosophy from.
NBA
"I watched the Blackhawks practice in our facility, they did an on court practice early in the year and I heard their coach say ‘I want the offense to play through our sticks defensively’ so I took that and said you know what, we’ve got to make people play through our hands," Boylen said. "And I think it kind of resonated with our guys."
Even without the steady results, Boylen has a modicum of a point there. Players on the team — chiefly, Kris Dunn and Ryan Arcidiacono — have openly talked about how much they enjoy playing the swarming style of defense Boylen espouses.
"Fly around," Dunn said on his defensive approach. "I think we just got heart. We don't back down from nobody. We go out there and play hard and you know when you play hard, good things happen." Dunn is currently tied for fifth in the NBA in steals per game (2.0).
"I think it's just about playing hard. If you play hard, you play the right way, I think good things happen," Arcidiacono said at practice last week. "We just bring that juice, we try to bring that energy every single game."
Whether the disparity between the Bulls' aggressiveness and general consistency on defense will close remains to be seen. Either way, credit the Blackhawks in part for every steal you see during a Bulls basketball game this season.
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