Monday, Feb. 14, 2011
9:20 a.m.
By Aggrey Sam
CSNChicago.com
NEW ORLEANSWith the defense of Bulls All-Star point guard Derrick Rose receiving increased scrutiny last week following the disparaging comments of Portland small forward Nicolas Batumafter the Trail Blazers beat Chicago, Batum told reporters Rose doesnt play defense; he later recanted his remarksRose responded with stellar defensive performances against Western Conference All-Star counterparts Deron Williams of Utah and New Orleans Chris Paul. Rose typically wouldnt admit to being rankled by Batums allegations, but after making life difficult for Paul, he shed some light into both his individual and the teams defensive philosophies.
I was playing D. I think that I contested all his shots, just trying to make him work for it, said Rose. Im not even paying attention to what Batum said. Our defense, the way weve been playing, Im not worried about that.
READ: Rose outplays Paul, Bulls end trip with victory
Our defense, we over-help on everything, so if one guy outplays our whole defense, he outplays us. Weve just been getting on the right page right now, getting on the right rhythm, where if a guy is driving, were stepping in front and taking charges or trying to go for the block, he continued. In the Portland game and the Golden State game that we lost, we werent doing that.
No less than Hornets head coach Monty Williamswho coached Batum as a Portland assistant coach prior to this seasonwas a staunch defender of Roses defense.
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Nicolas is running his mouth and getting Derrick mad at the rest of the league. He defends. I dont know what theyre talking about, said Williams. I watched that game. I didnt think it was that bad. He went for Trail Blazers point guard Andre Millers pump fakes a couple times, but everybody goes for Andres pump fakes.
Williams went on to further compliment Roses game, specifically the improvement hes shown this season.
WATCH: Rose says he wanted to make Chris Paul work for his shots
I couldnt foresee him shooting the ball the way he does now and I didnt see the explosion. Now, its like hes gotten quicker in one summer. Hes got better command of the ball than a lot of point guardscrossover, the hesitation; which I think is a palm, but theyre not calling ithe just dominates games with his penetration, praised Williams. I thought he was good, but I didnt think he was that good. Ive watched him, all these games on him. Hes an amazing player. Some of that stuff, you cant coach. Its like Chris. Id like to tell you I coach all that stuff with Chris, but you cant coach some of that stuff that he brings to the table.
Williams, who accepted the Hornets job after Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau turned down the opportunity, also lauded his peers sideline performance.
Thibodeau is changing that organization, as far as being a stingy defensive team. I dont know if they were known for that. Former Bulls and current Milwaukee Bucks head coach Scott Skiles had them playing a certain style, but theyve certainly brought that Boston defense to Chicago, said Williams, like Thibodeau, a first-year NBA head coach. Thibs is a guy who lives and breathes basketball. Hes probably at the Berto Center 24-seven, probably doesnt let anybody go home. He knows the game, he knows how to coach and you can tell the guys are paying attention to his message.
Aggrey Sam is CSNChicago.com's Bulls Insider. Follow him @CSNBullsInsider on Twitter for up-to-the-minute Bulls information and his take on the team, the NBA and much more.