3 reasons why the Chicago Bulls defense has been great this season

The Chicago Bulls have been terrible on defense the last two years. It seems now they have turned the corner, what they have done so well to start the year?

The Chicago Bulls are surprisingly ranked 10th on the defensive end to start the season. With the rough start to the season, losing games they should have won and blowing massive leads, the good defense has flown under the radar.

Yes this team overall have been pretty bad. But being competent defensively is a massive step forward. Ranking 25th and 27th the last two years, it was expected that the defense would be terrible and the offense strong.

Even more surprising is the fact that the Bulls have ranked second over the last two weeks up prior to the matchup with the Thunder.

Here are three reasons they have been so great defensively.

Trapping then scrambling

Don’t laugh, the defensive scheme of trapping the ball handler is on most occasions working well. Yes there have been breakdowns, but that is due to personnel, not because the scheme itself is a bad idea.

Most teams switch everything on defense, but the Bulls look to aggressively trap the ball handler then scramble to cover the shooter or player receiving the pass afterwards. This means the ball handler almost never gets an above the break three. It also means that while someone else is trying to get open for a pass from the ball handler, guards like Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn are getting steals in the open court.

Yes, it may look ugly and there will be breakdowns as players get used to this scheme. But the proof is in the pudding.

Kris Dunn

Kris Dunn is one of the main reasons this team is having a great season defensively. Not only does he lead the league in steal percentage for his position, he is in the top five in his position for block percentage and top ten for defensive rebounds.

Dunn may be struggling with his shot, but he is a dog on defense. In a contract year he is showing he has a future in this league and will attract the attention of a few teams. Dunn is a great help and man defender, and doesn’t mind taking on the assignment of players like Paul George.

Considering the absence of Otto Porter Jr. and Chandler Hutchison for most of the season, Dunn has done a brilliant job with his lack of size. It’s not an easy job defending the bigger wings when you are only a two guard.

Forcing turnovers

Both the above factors play into the Bulls main strength on defense this season. Forcing turnovers has been their calling card as a team this year. The aggressive trapping, the strength of Dunn on ball, this has helped lead to the Bulls forcing the most turnovers in the league this season. By forcing the ball out of the ball handlers hands and on to someone else they are making inferior players make shots and decisions.

The speed of Coby White, LaVine, Dunn with the long arms and defensive nous of Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky have made this team a real threat in both the open and half court.

Even the best teams in the league haven’t been immune to the swarming defense.

There aren’t a huge amount of things to write home about with this team, but their defense is one of them. Jim Boylen has copped a lot of criticism this year but deserves credit for the defensive success. If they can sort the offense out then this team is playoff bound.