I think we all know Coach Mike Woodson is a defensive minded coach. And if you don’t consider him to be at the same level defensively as a Tom Thibodeau, at the very least you have to recognize how polar opposite he is from former Knicks’ Coach Mike D’Antoni.
On the Bulls’ final possession of overtime yesterday with a chance to beat the Knicks’ Mike Woodson made a somewhat last second switch defensively that likely saved the day for the Knicks.
Watch in the video below as Woodson originally has Shumpert guarding Derrick Rose, then realizes before the ball is inbounded that the Bulls are planning to set a screen to free up Rose. So what does he do? He calls an audible of sorts and has Shumpert and Landry Fields switch defensive assignments. Woodson knows that by doing so with the screen up top, Shumpert can switch off to his original assignment and throw the Bulls Rose for a loop. It wasn’t intentional but just an added bonus that Rose and Shumpert accidentally collided on the switch, further throwing the Bulls off their intended play.
Cred to Woodson on this play, as he should get some shine for such a brilliant defensive move:
