From now until the start of the NBA season later this month, we are going to be running our season previews. Each day, we are going to look at two teams and talk about one thing they did well last year and one thing that they did poorly last year. Then, we are going to talk about the chances of maintaining what they did well/changing what they did poorly. In this edition we will look at the Chicago Bulls.

One Thing They Did Well

Defend The Post

Last season, the Chicago Bulls were one of the best teams in the NBA when it came to defending the post.  This was interesting because of who their big men are.  Sure Joakim Noah is a strong post defender, but he tends to be undersized.  They you have Taj Gibson and Brad Miller.  So what the Bulls like to do is send double teams, and their timing of these doubles is why they succeeded.

The Bulls never came right on the catch, where a big man could kick the ball out.  They always seemed to time their double when the big man seemed committed to making a move to the hoop, or where a kick out pass was impossible:

Here, Shaq has fantastic inside position.  Mo Williams throws the pass from the wing (which seems to be a mistake), and that allows Kirk Hinrich to double down.  Hinrich knows with Shaq’s back to him, there is no way that he can kick it out to Hinrich’s man.  That is the reason he doubles, and he forces the turnover, knocking the ball away.

Here, Brook Lopez gets the ball in the post.  As Brook tries to back Miller in with the dribble, the Bulls wait.  As soon as Brook commits to getting into the lane (with his turn towards the middle), the double comes down, and the Bulls get the steal.

One more from the Nets game.  Brook Lopez gets the basketball against Taj Gibson.  Brook faces up and starts along the baseline.  As soon as this happens, the Bulls send a double.  The logic is that Brook isn’t a PG, and therefore the kickout pass along the baseline is a tough one that he won’t be willing to make.  The proves correct as the double bothers the shot and forces a miss.

One Thing They Did Poorly

Spot Up Jumpers

The Chicago Bulls we far from the best offensive team in the league (24th with .91 PPP and 28th in offensive efficiency), but where they really struggled was in spot up situations.  The Bulls shot just 38.2% in these situations, and the real problem was this was their most used offensive situation (ran spot up plays 20.6% of the time – second most was 13.3% in transition).

They just didn’t have good shooters on their team, yet they always seemed to settle for the kick-out, outside jumper:

Here, the Chicago Bulls simply pass the ball around the perimeter, and when it gets into the hands of Jannero Pargo, he forces a jumper with a man on him already.  This is early in the shot clock, so that isn’t an issue.  Pargo could have pump faked, and tried to attack, but he just settled.

Here is another bad shot, when you consider the situation.  I am not talking about the Brad Miller three, he is wide open off of a kick.  However, after the Bulls get an offensive rebound, the ball winds up in Kirk Hinrich’s hands.  Instead of settling things down and setting up the offense, he jacks up a contested three early in the clock with nobody in the lane to grab an offensive board.

Can They Maintain/Improve?

In previous editions of these previews, I look at each aspect individually, but here I am going to talk about them all at once because I am unsure.  I don’t know if the Bulls will still be good defensively in the post (because of their doubles) because there is a new coach who brings in a new philosophy.

On the flip side, yes the Bulls brought in Kyle Korver (meaning they actually have a shooting threat on their team), but again, a new coach means a new philosophy, and you don’t know if they are going to be taking as many spot up jumpers as last year (I actually see them running more PNRs with Korver on the strong side – help on Rose, Korver gets an open three, don’t and Rose gets into the lane).

If I would have to guess, the Bulls are going to be a strong defensive team still, and they should improve when it comes to shooting the ball on the offensive end.