Hawks not afraid to give players much-needed rest
The Atlanta Hawks have certainly shown the rest of the Eastern Conference how to do things the right way this season.
On Saturday against the Bulls, Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer deactivated backup forward Pero Antic. In the past week, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap and Al Horford all skipped games for no particular reason.
It would appear that Budenholzer, a longtime San Antonio Spurs assistant, has brought the Gregg Popovich practice of resting starters to Atlanta.
"I think every team in the league is trying to figure out ways to maybe be proactive and aggressive and figure out how to keep our players in a productive, healthy state," Budenholzer said before Saturday's game. "Just prioritizing our players' health. Obviously, the Spurs have done it for a long time and done it well. Being there, I got to see first hand the positives, not just for the team, but for the individuals and how it helped them through seasons and helped them through their career."
The Hawks' roster isn't particularly old. Korver is 33, Millsap 29 and Horford 28. The oldest player is former Bull Elton Brand at 35.
"I think all of us, all throughout the league; I think the NBA is trying to figure out how to keep a great product on the court and keep our players in a healthy place," Budenholzer said. "I think all of us are working on it."
Let second half begin:
The Bulls reached the midway point of the regular season by playing game No. 41 on Friday in Boston. Coach Tom Thibodeau was asked to assess the first half.
"Just we've had a lot thrown at us," Thibodeau said. "The injuries are something we've got to deal with, I guess. There's a lot of work to be done. Derrick (Rose) is stringing games together, I guess that's a positive. We've shown glimpses of being very good and we've also struggled. There's a lot of work ahead of us."
Korver the perfect pro:
Here's Tom Thibodeau on Hawks guard Kyle Korver, who played for the Bulls from 2010-12 and put on a 3-point shooting clinic Saturday at the United Center.
"You're not going to find a better pro than him. He works incredibly hard in the off-season. He puts a lot into taking care of his body. He practices hard, concentrates. He's figure it out pretty well. He's done a great job."
Bull horn:
The Bulls said Saturday night they had not yet received MRI results on Joakim Noah's right ankle. Noah wasn't showing much of a limp before the game and said he didn't expect to be out long.
… The Hawks started the night with an 11-game road winning streak. According to Stats, LLC, only three other Eastern Conference teams have done that in the last 15 years and all three made the Finals - Miami in 2010 and '13, along with Philadelphia in '1.