Bulls trying to get on the same page
The Bulls' narrative changed Wednesday, at least if you focus on one line spoken by Pau Gasol following practice at the Advocate Center.
“To me, honestly, I don't think Tom is that hard-core. I don't think we practice that hard,” Gasol said, referring to allegations often pinned on coach Tom Thibodeau.
So now the problem is the Bulls don't work hard enough. That must be why they've lost six of their last eight games. Or maybe it's just a case of everyone trying to get in sync with a new lineup this season and long string of injuries.
The Bulls had two off days in a row for the first time since Dec. 20 and 21, so they held a team meeting Tuesday, followed by a short, but intense practice Wednesday.
Following Monday's mostly noncompetitive loss in Cleveland, Taj Gibson spoke out to say the Bulls need to practice harder. Gasol said Wednesday's session was mostly about competition.
“We needed to get that edge back,” he said. “We needed to get that aggressiveness back in our game, so we kind of went at each other 1-on-1 drills, 3-on-3 drills, scrimmage. Competing, which is not something we can do during practices at all. It was great to have that opportunity to do that today.
“Unfortunately with the schedule we have, we don't have that luxury to have these type of practices. Today was definitely positive. I wish we had more opportunities to do this.”
Mike Dunleavy (ankle) participated in the full practice, while Joakim Noah (ankle) participated in some of it. It's too soon to tell if either injured starter will be back on the floor Thursday when the Bulls host San Antonio.
The Bulls have their work cut out in the coming days. After playing the defending champion Spurs, the Bulls visit Dallas on Friday. Then after hosting Miami on Sunday afternoon, the Bulls head out for the six-game ice show road trip, which begins against Golden State, the team with the NBA's best record.
“The big thing is getting Joakim and Derrick (Rose) back to where they were,” Thibodeau said. “That's been a work in progress. I think Derrick is coming. I really liked the way Jo moved today, so that's a very encouraging sign.”
Thibodeau seemed unconcerned that there's anything fundamentally wrong with the Bulls. Before hitting this recent slump, they won 13 of 15 games. The coach focused on injuries and lack of practice time for the stumble.
Backing up a day, Gasol gave some insight into Tuesday's team meeting. He said Thibodeau encouraged all the players to talk about whatever was on their mind.
“It was a good meeting, a positive, important meeting, I think, where people just spoke up, shared their thoughts,” Gasol said. “If we want to get out of this slump, we've got to to it together. We can't do it individually. So it's important we stay on the same page and stick together as a team. That's how you get through stuff and especially adversity.”
Gasol emphasized that the team's workload under Thibodeau was not a topic raised in the meeting.
“It was good, getting on the same page,” Gasol said. “Not really pointing fingers, but just trying to be positive with each other and helping each other to figure it out and get better.
“I think it's important that we're all in this together, that we share that. I think it's a bad sign when there's cracks, when people start pointing fingers and talking negatively about the individual that is part of the group, whether it's the coach, whether it's a player. I think that shows weakness and it shows disruption. Right now, what we're showing is togetherness and that's what we want to continue to show as a team.”
Rose forwarded a similar message Monday about needing to get everyone on the same page. What page is it the Bulls want to land on, exactly?
“The winning page,” Gasol said. “The page where we work together as a unit, we communicate and we have fun doing it. I think that's the page we want to get on.”
• Get the latest Bulls news via Twitter by following @McGrawDHBulls.