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Gibson doesn't mind waiting on Bulls' lineup decision

On the all-time Bulls suspense scale, this one sits a few rungs below the color of Dennis Rodman's hair, but Bulls Fred Hoiberg will continue to wait on his starting lineup for Thursday's season opener.

Taj Gibson seems to be the likely candidate to start at power forward against Boston at the United Center, but Nikola Mirotic was back at practice Saturday after missing a few days with a sore back.

Gibson finished the preseason as the Bulls' leading scorer, averaging 13.8 points while shooting 64 percent from the field. Gibson also led the Bulls in rebounds during preseason at 7.7 per game.

"I feel like I had a great preseason, but that was the goal from the time when I went to to work with Jimmy (Butler) in the summer, knowing that I wanted to sharpen my game up," Gibson said Saturday at the Advocate Center. "I wanted to get better. We lost a lot of guys and (have) a lot to prove. Every day is a chance to get better.

"I wanted to let my game do the talking for me instead of crying and complaining about what I should be given and how I should be given it. I wanted to go out there and just earn it."

Butler, Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo are locks for the starting lineup, along with center Robin Lopez. Gibson certainly was the best power forward in preseason, but there's still the perception the Bulls may need an outside shooter like Mirotic in that spot, because Butler, Wade and Rondo are not proven 3-point shooters.

"All preseason we've had no problem scoring the ball except for the last game at Doug (McDermott's) old school, Creighton," Gibson said. "It's a free-flowing offense. But it's all about us taking care of business. Our defense is the thing that we're most worried about right now."

Gibson is on the money with his assessment. The Bulls averaged 108 points in the first six games of preseason, but shot just 30.5 percent in a loss to Atlanta last Thursday in Omaha. Neb. The fear is when facing a good defensive team that was using a normal rotation, the Bulls couldn't score. Could this be a preview of what's in store for the regular season?

"Going back and looking at the tape a couple times, we had a lot of great looks," Hoiberg said. "It wasn't only jump shots we were missing. We were missing layups and tip ins."

As far as teams packing the lane to prevent Rondo and Wade from driving to the basket, Hoiberg said there's a plan for that.

"That's a big thing in the majority of our meetings, talking about how teams are going to play us, how to attack," he said.

"I thought our pace was good (during most of preseason). I thought our screening was good. Last game when the ball didn't go in, our heads dropped. Our pace dropped. The body language dropped."

Meanwhile, Gibson always smiles when asked about his spot in the starting lineup. And knowing his history with the Bulls, when he says it doesn't matter if he starts, there's reason to believe him.

"I worked with the black unit, the starters today (in practice)," Gibson said. "But I like working with the bench, Bobby (Portis) and those guys. He switches me up, but it's always competitive. I like the way both units play because I'm really getting a sense of how Rondo and those guys play, and I'm having fun playing with the whole unit."

Rookie Denzel Valentine, out since the preseason opener with a left ankle sprain, participated in half of Saturday's workout. Center Cristiano Felicio sat out after taking an elbow to he throat against Atlanta, but is expected to be back soon.

Get the latest Bulls news via Twitter by following @McGrawDHBulls.

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