(670 The Score) A critical component of the Bulls’ key 98-94 win against the Cavaliers on Saturday evening was the quality defensive work that Chicago center Nikola Vucevic did in blitzing Cleveland star guard Darius Garland in pick-and-roll situations late in the game. It helped take the Cavaliers out of their offensive rhythm after they’d made a push in the fourth quarter.
It was an unusual sight, given that Vucevic is most often camped in or near the paint. It also led to an interesting revelation in Bulls coach Billy Donovan’s pregame media session Monday – he hasn’t instructed his team to play a drop defense in pick-and-roll coverage all season, even if it looks time and again like that’s exactly what’s happening.
“Everybody says we’re playing – we’re not playing a drop,” Donovan said. “We’ve never played a drop the entire year. Vooch should be up there at the level of the screen. Now the other thing too is he’s got to do two things. He’s got to make sure that the roller is just not getting all the way behind his head. But when we start back a couple steps, that’s not what we (want to do) – we got to get up higher, especially with a lot of these guards like (Caris) LeVert and like Garland, who are really attacking.
“The further you’re back, the more it gives those guys a head start to come at you. And Vooch is not necessarily one of those guys who is going to be Rudy Gobert back there, where you’re looking to finish over him. He’s got to start up higher. I think Vooch has done a pretty good job here recently of starting up a little bit higher.”
Donovan then explained what happens in the situations in which Vucevic or other Bulls big men do appear to drop and give opposing ball-handlers space to get going.
“Bigs, it’s just a normal tendency, is what happens is when the screen happens and you’re concerned about your man rolling, what happens is you start to retreat back,” Donovan said. “It appears that you’re just going back down.
“Sometimes in certain situations, like there’s a lot of movement and the big can’t quite get up there fast enough. So he may be a step or two behind the guy setting the screen. And when he is a couple steps behind, sometimes it’s very, very difficult to get all the way up there. But we certainly want him up there presenting. And then he’s got to read his man – is his man rolling hard, is he popping, what’s he doing?”
The Bulls haven’t employed aggressive blitzing pick-and-roll coverages much with Vucevic this season. That’s because Donovan prefers to stay out of rotation on defense when the ball is trapped and then quickly moved. It’s also because Vucevic doesn’t have good lateral quickness, and he’s the team’s best defensive rebounder. The Bulls would suffer on the glass if Vucevic was extended beyond 3-point line consistently.
The Bulls are tied for 18th in the league in defensive efficiency against pick-and-roll ball-handlers and are 29th in defensive efficiency against pick-and-roll roll men, according to NBA.com.
Donovan’s desire is to find a happy medium in the defensive coverage – he wants Vucevic consistently at the level of the screen to deny talented playmakers some space initially, then gradually work his way back deeper into the paint while the Bulls stay out of rotation.
“You want to at least present a little bit to help the guard get back, but Vooch, we don’t want him to stay up there,” Donovan said. “He’s got to go back down. But it’s also on the guard (defending) too. It’s a 50-50 partnership. It can’t just be all on Vooch to stay up and the guard keeps getting hung up on screens. The guard has got to get over the screen.”
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.