Wallace returns, goes scoreless
The body is back. The Bulls' head? Still MIA.
Ben Wallace returned from a two-game absence but didn't make much of an impact against the visiting Houston Rockets on Saturday night, finishing with no points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in 28 minutes of a 116-98 loss.
Wallace was the only starter who failed to score and was outrebounded by Luol Deng (7) and Joe Smith (6).
Wallace has scored 4 points over his last four games and picked up just 26 rebounds.
The Bulls were outrebounded for the sixth time in the last eight games with a season-low 34 to the Rockets' 50. Wallace's uneven output mirrors that of the team. You'd have an easier time figuring out the minutiae of the Iowa caucus than the myriad reasons for the Bulls' consistently inconsistent play.
Is Bulls coach Scott Skiles ready to make a change to the starting lineup?
"I'm contemplating getting some rest," he said after the game. "Tomorrow evening I'll start thinking about some of that stuff."
Kreskin, he's not: The Bulls have spent the last two weeks going win-loss-win-loss before losing their second in a row Saturday to Houston. They absorbed a 107-82 loss to Boston on Friday night and failed to rebound at home. Scott Skiles thought his team would respond.
"I haven't been right a whole lot lately," he said. "I don't know if you guys have noticed that or not."
Gray area: Aaron Gray returned to Chicago a conquering hero after two good games against Washington and Boston. The 7-foot rookie out of Pittsburgh has become the feel-good story of the week with his all-around play, averaging 10.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in his previous three games. Bulls coach Scott Skiles was toying with starting Gray on Yao Ming if Ben Wallace was unable to go for the second straight game. But Gray came off the bench and back to earth. He finished with no points, 1 rebound and 3 fouls in seven minutes.
Skiles was throwing hosannas before the game, though Gray's name didn't come up afterward.
"I've said it from the beginning: He knows what he is," Skiles said. "He's a big man that plays like a big guy. He's got good hands, he's got a soft touch. He's picked up what we're trying to get accomplished out there very quickly."
Gray said his Big East bonafides with uber-physical Pitt have prepared him for the NBA. And speaking of Pitt, Gray, no shrinking violet off the court, had some fun watching the Panthers dispose of Duke in an exciting overtime game Thursday night. Luol Deng and Chris Duhon definitely heard about it.
"We were all out eating and the whole first half I had to take it, take it, take it," Gray said. "Then the second half, you couldn't shut me up. It was great."