Smith could get used to seeing his name in lights
The preseason spotlight is usually pretty dim in the NBA, as teams typically rest starters and save their energy for the regular season.
Just before tip-off of Tuesday's Bulls-Washington exhibition game, power forward Joe Smith realized he was about to experience an NBA tradition from a new perspective.
"I was just thinking when they do the introductions and stuff, I'm always on the other end of that," said Smith, who is starting his 13th NBA season. "It felt pretty good to be on this side of it. The introductions haven't changed much since the (Michael) Jordan years.
"Just to be on this side of it with the spotlight and the music going, that's a good feeling."
Sounds like Smith is lobbying to be a starter, so he can see his name on the court in green lasers.
"No, I'm not saying that," Smith said with a laugh. "I'm just saying it was good to be on this side of it."
Smith is the lone veteran newcomer on the Bulls roster this season. After sitting out two games to rest a swollen right knee, he finally made his unofficial Bulls debut during the 97-76 victory over the Wizards at the United Center.
The 6-foot-10 forward looked out of practice during his first seven-minute run in the first half. He missed his only 2 shot attempts and surrendered an easy layin after stumbling on defense.
"It felt rusty," Smith said. "I kind of thought it was going to feel like that. But it's the first preseason game for me. I just wanted to go out there and try to get my legs up under me a little bit."
In the second half, coach Scott Skiles made a point of getting Smith on the court with starters Ben Wallace and Luol Deng. The results were much different as Smith scored 7 points in the third quarter, but he finished with just 1 rebound overall.
"I think he's going to be fine in any combination," Skiles said. "But just in order to be fair to him, I feel like I've got to get him some minutes with the starting guys, too. Anybody we bring off our bench is going to look better with the starters."
Skiles suggested the training staff will be watching Smith closely today to make sure the knee doesn't swell up again.
"One thing we try to stay away from is just nursing it all the time," Skiles said. "He plays, it swells up. He plays, it swells up."
No one really stood out for the Bulls in this game. The favorable score was more a case of several players turning in decent performances. By the end of the night, Deng was the team's top scorer with 11 points, followed by Andres Nocioni and Viktor Khryapa with 10.
JamesOn Curry, Chris Duhon and Thomas Gardner all made some shots to help the home team pull away. Rookie Joakim Noah tied Deng for the team-high in rebounds with 8.
Rookie center Aaron Gray, a pleasant surprise in the first two games, fouled out in 16 minutes Tuesday after contributing 6 points and 2 rebounds.