Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah had principles of defensive diligence drilled into them for years in Chicago, under the tutelage of notoriously demanding former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.
Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that after their New York Knicks suffered a 102-89 loss Tuesday to the Detroit Pistons, the two Windy City transplants chose to focus on the team's lackluster D.
"I played on teams before Thibs got to Chicago. We didn't have an identity," Rose told reporters after the game, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. "He came and changed the culture there and changed our identity. We can do that here. We have to and we're going to. But it takes time."
Thibodeau's tough talk already seems to be reaching his new disciples in Minnesota. He called them out for lacking toughness after two losses to start the season, and the Timberwolves responded by stomping the Memphis Grizzlies, allowing just 80 points in a 36-point win.
Noah didn't go so far as to invoke Thibodeau's name, but he was similarly disappointed, particularly with how the Knicks started the game - giving up 64 first-half points.
"We didn't come out with the right intensity," he said. "We can't give up baskets like that. It gives a team way too much confidence, especially in the beginning of the game, giving up layups and open shots. We got a lot of work to do."
It was far from a pristine defensive performance, to be certain, but far from a disastrous one, and 102 points is actually the fewest they've allowed in a game this year. Other Knicks players had their own takes on what went wrong Tuesday, namely that the team managed just 10 points in the fourth quarter.
"We can't beat anyone scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter," Carmelo Anthony said. "We didn't execute. We're trying to figure out and get a comfort level to know what are we going to run, how and who are we going to run it for. I don't think we're there yet."
Three games into the season, the Knicks rank 25th in offensive efficiency, and 23rd on defense.
