Hoiberg doesn't alter starting lineup after bad loss
After Friday's ugly loss in Atlanta, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg vowed the coaching staff would "look at everything" and make changes if necessary.
There was no change in the starting lineup Saturday when the Bulls played Sacramento at the United Center. The Bulls ended up losing to the Hawks by 9, but trailed 35-13 after the first quarter and were down by 30 for much of the night.
Before playing the Kings, Hoiberg talked about getting an early lesson in coaching when he first became an NBA player.
"The first thing Larry Brown told me when I signed my contract with the Pacers (in 1995), he doesn't coach effort," Hoiberg said. "It's about putting a game plan together. Guys have got to get ready to go out and play a game and get yourself prepared to go out and play together and give an honest effort.
"That's what we have to do. We have to prepare the same way every night, regardless of who we're playing and go out and execute and hopefully play together."
Bulls apologize for loss:
Bulls players were apologetic after the loss in Atlanta. Dwyane Wade literally apologized via his Twitter account, sending the message, "That performance was AWFUL!!! I apologize to all the Chicago fans and Wade fans."
Jimmy Butler scored 17 points in the first half, but accepted blame for the Bulls' poor showing until a lineup of subs cut into the lead in the fourth quarter.
"It's terrible basketball," Butler said, according to bulls.com. "That's not the way we're supposed to play. Starting with me and going all the way down the line, we have to be better as a whole, as a team. Otherwise we're going to keep getting our (butts) beat.
"Losing is something I don't accept, we shouldn't accept. We have to go out and do better. Frustrated, (ticks) me off because I know what we are capable of in this locker room."
Change costs Wade:
Dwyane Wade would have been an all-star starter this year if the NBA hadn't changed the rules to include voting from players and media.
He finished second among Eastern Conference guards in the fan voting. For years, the fan vote was all that counted, but Wade wasn't concerned.
"You've got some people who don't like change and some people who do," Wade told reporters Friday, according to espn.com. "Actually, once I watched TNT and I kind of seen the breakdown on how (the vote) goes, I thought it was interesting.
"I think that a lot of us players, as you come in the league, you benefit from evolution. I benefited from evolution when the (hand-checking) rules changed. And that's what this is, it's an evolution of all-star voting and a lot of guys have benefited from it. It's never a bad thing."
Jimmy Butler did benefit from the change. He finished fifth in East frontcourt fan voting (behind LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Kevin Love). But with support from players and media, he moved up to third and earned a starting spot.
Wade casts honest ballot:
Not every NBA player took all-star voting seriously. The only Bulls players who did not receive votes were Bobby Portis, Doug McDermott and Paul Zipser.
So low-contributing guys like Isaiah Canaan, Denzel Valentine and Cristiano Felicio did receive votes.
Dwyane Wade, who has been to 12 all-star games, said he filled out a ballot, but declined to mention who he voted for.
"I didn't vote for myself," he said. "I voted for guys I thought deserved to be in the All-Star Game. You can't vote for everybody; you only vote for the starters."