Hoiberg facing more tough calls
The Chicago Bulls' big-man rotation has merited plenty of discussion this season, with four quality players, plus a promising rookie to choose from.
Now Fred Hoiberg is facing the same dilemma when it comes to choosing his backup guards. In Friday's win over Charlotte, he brought in Kirk Hinrich first and saved Aaron Brooks for the second half, while E'Twaun Moore played the entire fourth quarter.
"It's not easy," Hoiberg said Sunday. "That's the most difficult part of the job, figuring out the rotation. Aaron has had good moments on the floor and he'll continue to. Kirk, as far as size with Jeremy Lin on the floor, that's the direction we decided to go.
"The big thing - and I talked to our team about it today - is everybody's got to be ready and has to accept the role given to them and it might not be the same every single night. It's an important part of the team, is you accept (your role) and go out and play the minutes you have and do the best job you can."
Pacers' George is back:
An inspiring story that hasn't gotten much play so far in the NBA is the impressive return of Indiana's Paul George.
George played briefly in a few games late last season, but he essentially needed a year off after suffering the gruesome broken leg in a Team USA scrimmage in August 2014.
George has been outstanding this season, averaging 24.3 points. In the last five games, he has produced 30.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and shot 48 percent from 3-point range.
"Paul George is playing as well as anybody right now," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "He can shoot it, drive it, post. He's a very tough matchup. With them playing smaller and spreading the floor, he has a lot of room to operate."
Noah an energy-giver:
First-year coach Fred Hoiberg was asked his early impressions of Joakim Noah, who pulled down 18 rebounds in just 23 minutes of playing time against Charlotte.
"The thing people don't see a lot of times is how vocal he is in the huddle, and that stuff's huge," Hoiberg said. "It's so important for a team to have that guy giving that energy on the bench. He's always standing up cheering for his teammates. He's an energy-giver; you can't have enough of those guys on your team."