Bulls start studying the big book of Pacers

The Bulls will get down to serious practice preparation today for their playoff series against Indiana. First comes the heavy lifting.

After a short walk-through on Thursday at the Berto Center, guard Ronnie Brewer marveled at the size of coach Tom Thibodeau’s Pacers scouting report.

“If you all could see the playbook we had at the beginning of the year, it’s the same thickness,” Brewer said. “And this is just for one team. It’s like college, all-your-classes thick.

“It’s pretty funny when I saw it, because if you know Thibs, he’s really down to detail and really focuses in. I guess we’re going to be hitting our books tonight.”

The Bulls went 3-1 against Indiana this season. But during their 21-2 run to end the season, one of the losses was in overtime to the Pacers on March 18.

“We’re going to take it one game at a time and focus on every single person and how we’re going to slow them down, shut them down,” Brewer said. “We’ve got to know our opponents better than they know us and that’s what we intend to do.”

Granger speaks up:Indiana#146;s leading scorer, Danny Granger, made some comments recently that were blown out of proportion. He suggested the Pacers would be better off playing the Bulls instead of, say, Boston.His reasoning is the Celtics have championship experience and a more balanced offense.#147;Chicago, they go as Derrick Rose goes,#148; he said in the Indianapolis Star. #147;If you make a concerted effort to stop Derrick Rose, you have a better chance of beating them.#148;Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau showed no interest in responding to Granger#146;s thoughts.#147;I don#146;t concern myself with what Danny Granger is saying,#148; he said Thursday. #147;If you need stuff like that to get motivated, there#146;s something wrong with you. This is the playoffs. You should be able to get ready.#148;CSN ratings skyrocket:Comcast SportsNet Chicago announced that ratings for the station#146;s Bulls telecasts increased 90 percent from the 2009-10 season. The Bulls averaged a 4.5 rating, which equates to about 160,000 homes.The top 18 highest-rated regular season games in the seven-year history of Comcast SportsNet occurred this year, with a high of 7.21 on March 7 against New Orleans.Comcast SportsNet will carry every game of the first round series against the Pacers. Scottie Pippen will join regular broadcasters Neil Funk and Stacey King for all playoff telecasts.Bull horns: Tom Thibodeau was named Eastern Conference coach of the month for April. ... The Pacers have gone 20-18 since assistant Frank Vogel replaced Jim O#146;Brien on Jan. 30, the day after Indiana lost to the Bulls at the United Center. ... The Bulls are once again encouraging fans to wear red to all home playoff games.