Defense First

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:20:00 -0400

“It is a very exact system,” guard Kyle Korver said. “We ran it all last year and this is basically the same group. I think that happens a lot. I’ve never been on a team that’s been so, almost, monotonously drilled. This is how we’re going to play. This is what we’re going to do … these rules are ingrained into our heads. We hear it in our sleep, you know what I mean? And there’s no slippage, ever. He won’t allow any slippage. So as long as we’re out there playing hard, we’re normally going to play the right way.”

It is not a fun way to play. Go into a Bulls locker room after most every game, and you see an exhausted team. Circles under the eyes. Ice on knees, of course. Daily treatment is encouraged and emphasized; no team may take more advantage of its four masseuses than the Bulls. But a coach that is 102-30 out of the gate has a cache that makes complaining pointless.

“It’s hard. It’s very hard,” Noah said. “That’s why winning is so sweet, because it’s hard. And it is repetitive and you’re always tired, and it’s always the next one, move on to the next one … it’s emotional. Sometimes things are great, like right now. But we beat Miami last week, and then we lose to a team that just fired their coach (Portland). So it just shows you there’s so much talent in this league, mindset is everything.”

Championship caliber

Defense First