How the Chicago Bulls can end Milwaukee’s season
By Josh Bootzin
After spending the first stretch of the season as one of the elite defensive teams in the NBA, a myriad of injuries to key defensive players Patrick Williams, Alex Caruso, and Lonzo Ball, dropped the Bulls’ defensive efficiency to 23rd in the league.
The lowest amount of points the Bulls allowed in any of their final six games of the season was a pitiful 117. In four regular-season games against the Bucks, the Bulls allowed an average of 116.25 points.
Despite the months-long struggles on the defensive end, the Bulls seem to have the amazing ability to tap into their earlier success at the most opportune of times.
These last two games in Milwaukee have been two of the Bulls’ better defensive efforts of the entire season.
After finishing the season with a defensive rating of 113.2 and allowing 49.6 points in the paint per game (both bottom-10 in the NBA), the Bulls trail only the Bucks in defensive rating of all playoff teams so far (100.0), and they’re allowing the Bucks only 44.0 points in the paint.
The strategy of double-teaming Giannis when he has the ball on either wing and then rotating out to shooters has befuddled the Bucks’ offense. They’re turning the ball over at an incredible rate. The Bucks’ turnover percentage of 17.7% and assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.32 during these last two games would both be dead-last in the league during the regular season. Milwaukee’s big three is responsible for 29 of those turnovers. The Bulls finished the season 23rd in the NBA in steals but have generated 17 over the last two games.
Alex Caruso has made his presence known in this series with four steals and two blocks in two contests. He’s also stepped up to the challenge of defending Giannis as well as any 6’5” guard could hope to. Caruso is directly responsible for all four of Giannis’ eight combined personal fouls that came on the offensive end. With Caruso as his primary defender, Giannis has shot 3-for-7 with nine points, three assists, and three turnovers. Against all other defenders, Giannis is 18-for-32 with 51 points, nine assists, and five turnovers.
If the Bulls can continue to marginally slow down the two-time MVP while squashing contributions from the rest of the roster, they’ll continue to stay in games and give themselves the chance to walk away with another win.