Chicago Bulls: Culture War-Offense vs. Defense

Have you ever heard of a great doctor, who is also a great lawyer? Probably not, because the doctor won't perform risky, life saving procedures out of the fear he'll get sued. And the lawyer, well, lets just say he's too busy suing people. The old saying is that you can be a jack of all trades, but a master of none. Likewise, the Bulls can't have their cake and eat it to. Either they become a great defense (or offense), or they will suffer the consequences of being mediocre on both ends.

Well what about the great 90's Bulls teams you ask? They were a great defensive team, but I don't think you would confuse them for being the showtime Lakers of the 80s. MJ was the best scorer ever, but remember he also played with Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright, Will Perdue, Luke Longley, and Rodman. Let's just say they were offensively challenged. So even looking at one of the greatest teams ever, (who were probably as close to being great in both aspects of the game than anyone), the 90s Bulls won 6 banners largely due to defense (and MJ of course). Want another example? What about those 85 Bears? You don't hear people talking about the vaunted offense? No they win that SB title because of the 4-6 defense.

So lets get back to these Bulls. Against Portland, with Deng injured, From Black (Del Negro) , went with a lineup of Rose, Gordon, and Larry Huges , with Huges as the SF. That would have worked if Portland was fielding the 3 little piggies. Instead, that lineup got rolled over for 116 points, with the likes of Brandon Roy, Aldridge and Oden tearing up our defense.

At some point, the Bulls need to decide who they are. Are they the offensive powerhouse that's going to outscore opponents 113-109, or are they the defensive nightmare, winning games 87-79. Its a tough decision. Obviously, I go with the defensive nightmare. It may limit Rose's ability to run on the fast break, but its not like he can pass the ball to Amare Stoudamire or Lebron James on the wing for a fastbreak dunk. Del Negro is attempting to run a Formula One car race because he's got a hot Ferrari at the PG spot, but basketball is a team sport and your other drivers are all driving Ford Tauruses.

Plus if the 90's Bulls taught us anything, its that great defense leads to good offense. The Bermuda Rose does his thing better when he gets an outlet pass from a Noah rebound versus trying to run the offense after an inbound pass after an Oden dunk. Its a culture war out there. I'm hoping the defense wins.