At 19 years old, Wendell Carter Jr. has already been a revelation defensively for the Bulls. The defensive responsibilities for a center are the toughest to learn of any position, and it’s easy to forget that the Bulls weren’t planning to begin the season with Carter in their starting lineup given how poorly rookies usually fare in that role. Carter has been a massive outlier. Rather than being a liability, he’s emerged as the Bulls’ best defender on most nights.
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Carter has been much better than expected in every aspect of his defense, but his rim protection is what has really stood out. He is already looking like an elite shot blocker based on per-possession stats. Of the players who have registered at least as many minutes as Carter, his 3.7 blocks per 100 possessions are topped only by Anthony Davis.
More impressive than the block numbers is how great Carter has been at positioning himself in the paint as a deterrent on drives. Carter played mostly zone in his lone year at Duke, and the NBA’s defensive three-second rule could have been a massive adjustment for him. Instead, he’s picked it up almost immediately.
“I’ve been called for about four (defensive three seconds violations) so far,” Carter told The Athletic. “It’s definitely decreasing.”
Carter was being too harsh on himself in his self-assessment. He’s been whistled for three this year — twice in the Bulls’ second game, once in their fourth game, and zero since then.
“He’s a great learner,” Hoiberg told The Athletic. “If he makes a mistake, you tell him once. He’s not going to make the same mistake twice.”
Carter has already mastered the two techniques required of big men to skirt the defensive three-second rule. First, he has developed his internal two-nine clock. You will often see players dancing in and out of the lane like a tightrope artist. The purpose of that movement is to reset the three-second time limit that a player is allowed in the paint while not actively guarding an opponent. Carter is a natural at figuring out the timing required to step out and get back in time to contest shots.
The other technique big men use to stay in the paint is the tag and cleanse. By touching an offensive player while in the paint, the defensive clock resets, or “cleanses,” in the same way it does when stepping out of the lane. Carter is a master of this too, tagging players to allow himself to spend entire possessions protecting the rim.
Carter has what Hoiberg has termed “unbelievable instincts” and has picked up on this stuff much earlier than any of the other rookies in his class. Most rookies take themselves out of plays by not understanding how to stay in the paint or not recognizing when to rotate over from the weak side to contest layups. Watch DeAndre Ayton closely and you will see him out of position on a nightly basis. Carter is the opposite. He is almost always in the right spot to make big plays, and that’s a credit to the great instruction he has received thus far.
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“A lot of that’s Robin (Lopez),” Hoiberg said. “Teaching him how to tag guys through the lane to cleanse yourself and get a new two-nine.”
Lopez says it’s all just part of the job, which is a testament to the type of veteran leader he’s become during this stage of his career.
“I’d be a huge jackass if I weren’t to do that, you know?’’ Lopez told reporters after a recent Bulls practice. Lopez has also had the benefit of working with a willing student.
“Wendell’s been great,” Lopez told The Athletic. “He has a knack for the game. He’s a very intelligent player. Very gifted player. He works hard so he puts himself in a good position to succeed.”
Carter also credited Lopez and Hoiberg with helping him on that end. But when asked who has been the most helpful, he pointed to associate head coach Jim Boylen.
“He’s a mastermind on the defensive end,” Carter said. “I look to him whenever I have questions and he’s helped me a lot. He keeps it real with you. He tells you when you mess up or when you’re being lazy. I feel like that’s the most important thing when you’re teaching someone to be a great defender.”
With the help of Hoiberg, Boylen and Lopez, Carter has learned to put himself in a position to come over from the weak side and contest shots. But what has separated him from the rest of the field is his ability to alter attempts without fouling once he gets to his spot. At only 6-foot-10, Carter doesn’t look like an imposing shot blocker. But his 7-foot-4 wingspan has caught opponents off guard.
“He’s longer than you expect,” Nuggets center Nikola Jokic noted after Carter forced him into a rough 9-of-20 shooting performance with six turnovers.
Carter has an impressive grasp of the verticality rules. He has generally stayed straight up and down on his block attempts, turning his arms into a human wall. He’s stopped some of the most athletic finishers in the league.
Carter has had problems with committing touch fouls on the perimeter and the Bulls need to coach him up better on the new freedom of movement rules. But he’s already nailed the tougher part of big-man defense, which is avoiding fouls at the rim.
Carter has also resisted the urge to chase blocks unnecessarily, which is usually a huge problem area for young big men. Other prolific blockers like Hassan Whiteside and Karl-Anthony Towns will jump at anything, recklessly putting themselves out of position and hurting team defense. Carter has stayed down on pump fakes and shown discipline. He almost never gets baited into jumping into players.
What Carter has learned in just a few short months is nothing short of astounding. And the studying never stops. His next area of focus?
“Learning what players like to do,” Carter said. “Studying up on film. Where they like to get their shots from. I feel like that’s the most important thing as far as stopping terrific scorers.”
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Given how great of a student Carter has been thus far, there is no doubt in my mind that he will pick up player tendencies just as well as he has learned the rest of the intricacies of NBA defense. Hoiberg is a believer too.
“To pick it up as quickly as he has,” Hoiberg said, pausing before breaking into a smile, “he has a chance to be special.”
(Top Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)