The Miami Heat's Game 3 victory over the Chicago Bulls showcased the tremendous starpower the Heat possess, something the Bulls can never match. Chicago's hope was that its depth would make enough of a difference to overcome that disadvantage, but the problem is that only five players can be on the court at the same time. Outside of Derrick Rose, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau has some tough choices to make with his roster.
Bulls Vs. Heat: Tom Thibodeau Faces Tough Lineup Choices For Chicago
Nearly every player on the Bulls' roster outside of Rose and Luol Deng is either an offensive or defensive specialist. This means the Bulls can be tough to scout, since Thibodeau has so many different combinations he can use. On the other hand, as SB Nation's Bulls blog Blog a Bull notes, it also means there's a drawback to each of those combinations.
As Steve Kerr remarked during the game, Thibodeau has choices whether to go more offense or more defense, but there's a drawback to each. The Heat don't have that roster flexibility, but that also have two-way stars (Bosh is no great defender but is more capable than, say, Boozer) able to play a lot of minutes, and a supporting group that had a nice outing at home.
This is the kind of problem that gets magnified in the playoffs, when there are no back-to-back games and when teams can more thoroughly scout each other. Thibodeau is under a lot of pressure to push the right buttons.
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