Defense key for Bulls with Derrick Rose out

The defense will be the key for the Chicago Bulls during this stretch with Derrick Rose out.

With the news of Rose’s injury coming Tuesday night, a win against the struggling Hornets at home would have been a nice confidence lift to a team that desperately needs it. Instead they produced a lackluster performance that proved all of the critics right. They struggled mightily offensively and looked out of ideas at times, especially when they needed it most in the fourth quarter, where they were outscored 31-21. Defensively they weren’t much better, allowing the Hornets to shoot nearly 47 percent from the field.

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What the Bulls need to do now is not panic. Last year when Rose got hurt the Bulls went into a free fall and it looked as if they were going to pack it in and head toward a spot in the lottery. Instead they came together and earned home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

What is exciting is this year, the Bulls’ roster is much better equipped to handle the loss of Rose than the 2013-14 team. This team has 2 All Stars and a bench that has much more fire power and outside shooting. The platform is there, but this team needs to start defending at a much higher level, if they want to make some noise in the playoffs.

To me, the most underrated part of Rose’s game is his defense and that might be what they will miss from him most. Together Aaron Brooks and Kirk Hinrich may be able to nearly matchDerrick’s production offensively over the course of a game, but defensively Rose is much better than both.

This way very apparent against the Hornets as opposing point guards Mo Williams and Brian Roberts found open shots for themselves and their teammates consistently. Rose’s athleticism gives opponents fits because it is very tough to get comfortable looks against him, but the same cannot be said for Brooks and Hinrich. Defensively the rest of the team needs to adjust, and show more help like they have done in the past, because one on one, their point guards are not good enough.

The bottom line is the Bulls need to get back to their identity of being a brutally tough, defensive team. They have gotten away with playing average defense all year but without Rose they cannot keep playing sloppily on the defensive side of the ball. If they can get stops and frustrate their opponents they will wear them down and it will make the offensive part of the game much easier.

It is frustrating to watch right now because we have seen the majority of these players play much better defensively as recently as last year and right now they are just not doing it. There is still time to get it together but the clock is ticking and the playoffs are right around the corner. I think with the leadership and the veterans the Bulls have they can still fight for the Eastern Conference crown without Rose, but defensively they need to improve immediately, starting with a home game against the Timberwolves on Friday.

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