Film Breakdown: Three Plays that Expose the Chicago Bulls’ Defensive Woes

Here, Matas Buzelis made a terrible pass leading to a Jimmy Butler steal. Then Coby White does hustle and knocks the ball loose. But as the ball bounces back toward center court, two Warriors hustle to make a play for the ball. As for the Bulls, no player had crossed half-court.

Buzelis should have been sprinting for the ball with the fear of a lengthy benching in the back of his head. Instead, his reaction to the play was slow, and the Warriors had already scored.

As for Josh Giddey and Nikola Vucevic? They did not make it into the picture. Giddey was at the top of the key, visibly slumping his shoulders, and gave up on the play altogether. Perhaps there was no ‘stat-to-pad’ involved in that sequence.

Story continues below.

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This was a very notable situation. Giddey and Vucevic have been vocal about how the team needs to be tougher and more connected. Plays like this cannot go over well in the locker room. Their words are invalidated by their actions. If there is locker room friction, it’s likely due to the self-proclaimed leaders of the team not doing what they say the other players should do.

Struggle with Communication

Here, Giddey and Buzelis were caught in a pick-and-roll switch. Hilariously, both were screened off, leaving the shooter wide open. To further increase the comedy, after the play, they murmured about who was supposed to contest the shooter.

Clearly, the communication was off, but the bigger issue was effort. Neither Giddey nor Buzelis attempted to get around the screen. They both just……………stood there.

This lack of effort just can’t be excused. Both players deserved to be benched and coached. The fact that it was let go reflects a culture of softness that has permeated the organization.

Just Atrocious

In this play, Giddey and White were far from the ball at the dunker spot. White then sends Giddey to guard Jimmy Butler on the opposite end. Into the frame came Vucevic.

Have you ever played 2K, and you think you’re controlling one player, but you have the wrong one? That’s what Vucevic looked like here. He was in the lane, with solid defensive positioning. However, he lost his man, Pat Spencer, on a cut, and then gave up an easy layup.