13 | May | 2011 | NBA Playbook

Conference Finals Preview: How Will The Heat Defend The Bulls’ Pick And Roll?

During the playoffs, the Chicago Bulls’ offense has turned into a Derrick Rose show with the pick and roll being run more and more.  During these playoffs, the Bulls have run their pick and roll 22.75% of all possessions, up from 19.4% during the regular season.  This means that if the Heat want to slow down Derrick Rose, they are going to have to stop the Bulls’ pick and roll game.

We have talked about the Heat’s pick and roll plenty of times in the past, but what they like to do is trap the ball handler hard when he comes off of screens, forcing the ball handler to give up the basketball (and once that happens, the big trapping returns to his man).  They did this last round against the Celtics whenever Paul Pierce came off of a ball screen:

MIAD1

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Quick Hitter: Chicago Starts The Game With A Dunk

Going into game six, the Chicago Bulls were looking to take control of the game early (especially considering the team that one the first quarter won the game every single time this series).  To do so, the Bulls ran a creative set that offered a number of different options and resulted in an easy dunk for Carlos Boozer:

OP1

We pick this set up after Derrick Rose brings the basketball down and kicks the basketball to Keith Bogans who was sharing the court with him in a two guard look.  After making the pass, Derrick Rose loops around a Joakim Noah and flashes to the opposite wing as the basketball goes to Carlos Boozer at the elbow.

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