Gibson steps in for Noah

Joakim Noah's thumb surgery left more than a void in the lineup.

Noah is often credited for being the Bulls' emotional leader, and he took on the role of jumping into the middle of the team huddle after pregame introductions and firing up his teammates.

That job went unfilled for a couple of weeks, until second-year forward Taj Gibson decided to take center stage in the pregame huddle the past two days.

“Just got to stop being shy and get out there and try to help the team,” Gibson said with a laugh. “I fired them up pretty good (against New Jersey on Friday). We got off to a good start. I'm looking forward to trying to do it again.”

Apparently, no one nominated Gibson for the role. He just stepped in and filled a need.

“I think he's getting confidence with his dancing skills,” teammate Luol Deng joked. “He just jumped in the huddle and started doing his dance.

“It's guys having fun; we're winning. You've got to ask Taj what he calls his dance. It would be interesting to know.”

Thibs stays shortsighted:

Before Saturday's game, coach Tom Thibodeau was asked about the Bulls' opportunity to improve their record against a series of weak opponents. He made it sound as though there is only one game on the schedule.

“I don't look that far ahead. I want us to be ready to play tonight,” Thibodeau said. “In the NBA, sometimes the schedule is with you, sometimes it's against you. Sometimes your opponent has injuries, sometimes you have injuries.

“The thing that I've liked about our team, I think we're a deep team. When we've had the injuries, whoever has stepped in has done the job. We want to continue to do that.”

Cavs are crumbling:

A few days before LeBron James returned to Cleveland on Dec. 2, the Cavaliers owned a 7-9 record. Then they lost to Boston, were embarrassed by Miami and lost 15 of 16 games heading into Saturday's visit to the United Center.

“Did we expect to get off to this type of start? No, we didn't,” said first-year coach Byron Scott. “It's the NBA; things happen. The one thing I'm very proud of is our guys haven't thrown in the towel. They're continued to battle each and every night, even when we've been down in numbers.”

The fight was evident Saturday with the Cavs leading the Bulls by 10 points early in the third quarter.

“And we've just got to get some breaks, that's the biggest thing,” Scott added. “I think we're all pretty happy that 2010 is over with, especially in December. We're looking forward to the New Year.”

Bull horns:

The Cavaliers had 10 players available Saturday and used eight. … Luol Deng will host the sixth annual “Hope for Sudan” celebration Sunday at Truman College.