this guy is a troll, not everything is about numbers you know, look at how many guys were injured in the bulls last season, that said, it gave a lot of opportunities for bulls second and third strings players to have more play time and therefore helped build a stronger bulls team going into this season.
BULLS WILL BE GREAT THIS SEASON!!!
What happened? One word. Injuries. That is what happened. Noah didn't win the DPOY due to him not playing in enough games but was voted ahead of the guy who won it over him on the all defensive team(s).
Having the number 1 defense in the league doesn't mean anything by itself. The Bulls were no. 1 two years in a row, and did they win a title? No. But now, even if they aren't the best defensive team in the NBA (which is not proven yet), they are far better overall because of the emergence of Butler, getting Rose back, a developed Gibson and Noah, and don't sleep on Dunleavy because he's just efficient on both sides. Bottom line is, they have a better chance to beat the Heat then ever before.
Know nothing about basketball, yes Asik and Taj gibson together no one could score, However, last year Nate Robinson or Marco are not good man-to-man defenders, me knowing basketball something i knew last summer then we had to play more defense cause the offense was not good. Regardless we still were 3rd or 2nd in opponents PPG and opponents FG% we were in the tops so why is this dude even considering last years team when real basketball minds know that that team was basically for rental purposes .. like putting fix-a-flat till you get that new tire.
It is really derrick rose… a team will be shook by losing a top ten all nba (except the thunder because they have 2). The bulls had a deficit on fast break the entire season. Ok, so we forced the turnover… now what? There is no DRose to force the ball into the bucket, or make the play that will turn defense into offense. Certainly losing Asik will cause some instability but he has always been a rebounder before a defensive staple. Noah needs to be better IMO.
Bad possessions offensively equal fast break points. Rose controlled the pace of the game. When Rose is in the game you will have all 5 defenders keeping close to the paint to help when Rose drives, this means even in the event of a miss, the opponent is not in position to get back as quick. Now add in the 22 games Hinrich missed, the nearly 20 games Taj missed and the 15+ that Noah missed.
This shows how much difference Asik made. One player. The difference in numbers with and without Asik is huge.. Sometimes you think you're saving money but in fact you are sacrificing critical performance. You started something with Asik, you should have kept it. I believe Asik would have stayed if the Bulls had offered $17-18 for three years.
This shows how much difference Asik made for the Bulls. One player. You would think you are saving money but you are in fact sacrificing critical performance. Had the Bulls offered like $17 – 18 m for three years instead of Houston's $25m Asik would have stayed I believe.
Not having Nate Robinson will make a huge difference on the defensive end. I watched almost every Bulls game last year… Nate was god-aweful on defense. As fun as he was to watch when he heated up offensively, he just didn't seem to try very hard on defense. Addition by subtraction.
Injuries. For some reason, people seem to think Rose is a below-average defender. If you actually watch him, while imperfect, he rarely gets shaken or burned. He's quick and athletic, obviously, and he's capable of recovering quickly when he does get out-of-place. And not only were the Bulls forced to rely on Nate Robinson–a clear minus on defense–Hinrich, Noah, Deng, and Taj–all ace defenders–had injury troubles at points throughout the season. Losing the continuity of Asik off the bench hurt, sure, but a defense doesn't sink because of the loss of a guy who played 12-15 minutes per game.
Essentially, Asik, Taj and Brewer *were* the Bulls' defensive depth during 2010-2012, though Brewer dropped off late in his stint and Taj is really the key to the Bulls' depth and versatility (CJ and Korver are average defenders on their very best days). Calling Kirk a "solid" defender is an awesome understatement, and he'll settle into a much more comfortable role, no longer playing those marathon games and hopefully avoiding the injury troubles. The Bulls will now have a crunch-time lineup of Rose-Butler-Deng-Taj-Noah. That's a very long, athletic, and tenacious lineup–perhaps the stingiest high-usage, five-man lineup in the league next season. It's hard to truly separate the top 3-5 defenses in the league, but the Bulls will be up there; there's not much doubt about that.
This article does not take into considerarion the impact Rose has on the defense as well. Hinrich now comes off the bench as an elite defender. Also, the emergence of Butler defensively and as a starter over Hamilton is huge. The third reason is all the injuries the Bulls had last season: Hinrich, Noah, Deng etc…At some point this season we will see Rose, Hinrich, Butler, Gibson, Deng and Noah on the floor…I can't see any team that has 6 guys that can defend like those guys. There is more than just statistics John.