Knocking Carlos Boozer is old hat for me, as I've been doing it since even before he got here. The real red flag for me was seeing how happy Utah fans were to see him go, and knowing that if Jerry Sloan couldn't get him to play defense, then nobody ever would. Now it seems like most of Chicago has joined the hate-wagon, with fans booing him at home and old timers like Horace Grant calling him out.
The Bulls have rallied together on this subject, with everyone from players to coaches cutting him slack, mostly excusing his poor play because of injury. It is right that the Bulls do this and a good sign of their team unity. However Carlos Boozer hasn't been playing badly because of his "turf toe" injury. He plays badly because he is lazy, stupid, clumsy, and a bit of a head case. Grant was too kind in his criticism. If Boozer's play was anywhere near as effective as Horace Grant's (a guy who was the fourth or five option on his team) then no one would be booing him at the United Center.
Have you ever seen a veteran player get as many defensive 3 second calls as Boozer? Have you ever seen a power forward less effective at defending the pick and pop, or on helping out on the weak side? Have you ever seen a player make such a spectacle over the very few times he actually does score a basket, obnoxiously wagging his head back and forth, as if trying to knock that tiny pea brain of his back into place? And how about all the mishandled balls? Or the constant bitching and glaring at the refs when he thinks he's fouled? Have you ever, ever, seen the guy hustle back down the court when the other team has a chance at a fast break? And few players shout obscenities as loudly as Booz does on the court; you can always hear him even over the TV filters. Yes, it is no surprise that Bulls fans, who are every bit as discerning as Jazz fans, have starting booing the guy.
I joked earlier that Boozer was my new Deng, the Bull I used to bash up until this year when he suddenly decided to play decently. But now I would say that Boozer is becoming my Tyrus Thomas, a guy whose play is so staggeringly predisposed to infuriate that it becomes impossible to watch him without becoming incensed.
I'm an optimist though, so I'm not completely giving up hope. I've seen Boozer have good offensive games, not as a Bull actually, but last year against the Bulls. No doubt Paxson and Forman saw that game as well and decided then and there to sign him without doing any more research on the matter. The point is though that he is capable of producing good offense. And even though he's a wretched defender, he's OK defending on the ball in the low post, a position that utilizes his shoving skills most effectively. The Bulls should chop his minutes down and use him in spots where his strengths would be most effective and weaknesses least damaging.
It is possible to be a very good player in this league and be a poor defender. Zach Randolph is a perfect example of that. LaMarcus Aldridge also comes to mind. I'm sure the Bulls were hoping to get a player close to that level when they signed Boozer, but so far they've gotten nothing. And don't try to show me stats that he's rebounding, because he's a master of the "poach rebound". Every time a defensive rebound comes down in a spot where Boozer and some other Bull could equally get it, Boozer claws at it like a maniac while Noah, Taj, Thomas, etc, wisely let the crazy guy have the ball before it gets knocked out of bounds. In other words, his rebounding stats are inflated.
OK, now that I've beat that horse to death, let's take a lightning look at the Hawks series. Bulls came out flat in game one, Atlanta hustled and shot the ball well, so they won. In game two, Bulls defended well and both teams shot poorly. Bulls won that one with defense and rebounding. The big surprise is that Rose has not been able to have a monster game with Hinrich being out of the lineup. His backup, Teague, has played far better than anyone expected and Rose has been a bit off. Not sure if it was the MVP distraction or what. Even with home court advantage taken away the Bulls should still win this series, even with a pathetic Boozer. However, they will not get by the Heat playing at this level.
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