Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen is hoping to start the 2019-20 season with an identity, and what better way than to represent “The Windy City” with the toughness that's inspired teams of the past like the old Chicago Bears of yesteryear, not a glamorous city like Los Angeles, but rather a nose-grinding one.
Boylen knows his defense must be physical, but the modern way of containing is addition by subtraction: less turnovers = better defensive sets and more organization.
“Are we going to be a rock ‘em, sock ‘em Charles Oakley, Hakeem Olajuwon type like the (1994 Knicks and ) '94-'95 Rockets? We are not,” said Boylen, according to Sam Smith of Bulls.com. “But we have to be better. How? Your offense dictates your defense, too. You can't turn the ball over and have people running the other way. We can't take plays off. Last season we had guys take plays off.”
Boylen took over in December and struggled to morph a team tailored for Fred Hoiberg to become an old-school tough group of players.
“I just want us to compete every play for the city, for the heritage and the history of the Bulls,” said Boylen. “People look at me when I say that like I am a complete dummy. I think it matters. I think we have to play harder for the city. We have a tough city. We're not in LA. They don't talk about defense in LA; they don't. Here when you give up a layup the whole crowd is like, ‘oh.' The air comes out.”
The Bulls prospect as a finesse team with players like Zach LaVine, Otto Porter Jr., and Lauri Markkanen, yet they have a few pieces that can start building that sort of culture within the locker room.
Whether that sticks or not remains to be seen.
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