© Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
Billy Donovan says the Chicago Bulls have to be better at communicating on defense
On Sunday, everything seemed going well for the Chicago Bulls as they zoomed off to a huge 21-point lead in the first quarter. And then, just like that, it all came crumbling down under a hail of three-pointers shot in by the Brooklyn Nets—25 triples, to be exact as the Bulls lost for the fourth game in a row, 118-109.
After the game, Bulls coach Billy Donovan lamented his players’ miscommunication on defense that led to numerous open three-pointers for the Nets.
Communication slips
While Donovan lauded the effort the Bulls exerted to contest the Nets’ shooters, he pointed to a lack of communication on defense as the main culprit in letting Brooklyn snipe from long-range.
“We got hurt on the communication piece on a lot of their slip-outs,” Donovan said. “There were a bunch of threes rotation-wise; they were left open and knocked them down.”
In a league as competitive as the NBA, a split second of carelessness can lead to disaster. NBA players are so good that a sliver of space is all they need to rain down one three-pointer after another. The Bulls must stay connected, especially if their goal is to halt opponents' three-point barrages.
“Defensively, the communication piece (was the problem) and guys helping one another. It’s hard to overcome when a team makes 25 threes. Give them credit. There were shots they made from good offense, and there were shots we didn’t communicate and contest well enough. So it lies somewhere in the middle there. I know there was a lot more we could have done as far as helping,” Donovan added.
Have to do a better job of communicating
Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic emphasized the importance of good defense, communication, and team chemistry. With the team’s campaign spiraling down to nowhere, the onus is on the Bulls to get it together quickly, beginning with proper communication on the defensive end.
“We don’t do a good enough job communicating to each other what we have to do or honoring the call when somebody calls (coverage),” Vooch said.
“Even if it’s wrong, we have to honor whatever that person who feels that that’s the right call. Got to do a better job being on the same page communicating what the coverages are and getting there. The initial coverage breaks down and we are in scramble mode and there is so much shooting now around the league it gets harder to make up for all that space.”
