Bulls' focus on team

Shortly after a three-hour practice finally concluded Monday, the Bulls retreated to the locker room and shut the door. Rookie Thomas Gardner was asked to cut an interview short so he could join the gathering.

This was unusual behavior for the Bulls but understandable for a team off to a disappointing 1-5 start and about to hit the road for six games.

Needless to say, the players weren't voting on whether rookie Joakim Noah should buy doughnuts from Winchell's or Spudnuts during the team's three-day stay in Los Angeles later this week.

"We just talked about being a team," center Ben Wallace said. "Instead of going out there and playing like a group of individuals, we have to play as a team."

Wallace said the team meeting was Adrian Griffin's idea. It wouldn't be surprising if Griffin did most of the talking, either. The Bulls forked over a three-year deal to pry Griffin away from Dallas last year because they thought the team missed his leadership.

"I said before and I stick by my word that I think we're a better team than we were last year," Wallace added. "I know right now we're not playing like it. But we've just got to get out there and relax and play our style of basketball."

General manager John Paxson also shared his thoughts Monday on the Bulls' miserable start.

"What's troubled me is we're 1-5 and there's not one thing you can point to that says we're playing well in that area," Paxson said. "There's no sense in pointing fingers at anybody. Point them at me. I'm the one who put the group together."

That's not to say Paxson or anyone else is throwing in the towel. The Bulls have started slowly in each of the past three years, but this recurrence is puzzling. With 10 regulars back, this team was supposed to be mature enough to find its stride right away.

Then again, the starting lineup featured 21-year-old Tyrus Thomas, 22-year-old Luol Deng and 24-year-old Ben Gordon. Maturity is a relative term here. The Bulls still are far younger than most of the NBA's best teams.

"I'm certainly not going to lean on the 'we're still young' thing," Paxson said. "People don't want to hear that. I can't in one breath say, 'Hey, this group won 49 games last year' and then say, 'Hey, we're young.' People see through that stuff. I'm not about to go there."

Paxson has as million theories on why the Bulls have played so poorly, but he isn't sure if any are correct. The most blatant distraction early this season was failed contract negotiations with Gordon and Deng. Those two players chose to turn down the Bulls' offers and are hoping to command higher salaries next summer.

Often times in the NBA, a high scoring average equates to a high salary. That concept has the potential to put a strain on the team concept.

"That can come into play, but I don't think that's what's going on right now," Wallace said. "I think Lu right now is forcing the issue a little bit. I think sometimes he might think we're asking him to go out there and do more than he usually does. But we're just asking him to do what he does.

"In Ben Gordon's defense, the couple years that I watched him and last year I had the opportunity to start the season with him -- he's been a slow starter. I don't think the money thing is affecting him. I just think he's another one that just has to relax and play his game."

The Bulls' greatest failure so far is easy to identify. The team ranks 28th in the league in points per game (86.5) and 29th in both field-goal percentage (.381) and 3-point percentage (.264).

"We feel like at some point the lid on the basket's going to come off for us and we're going to make shots," coach Scott Skiles said. "Guys will relax at that point and we'll start playing much better."

Added Paxson: "This is still a team that won 49 games last year. By all accounts, I believe our group didn't do anything over the summer to get worse as players. But they have to come together as a group and invest themselves in one another. I think that's a big thing."