League may have to rule on Knicks' roster-sheet error
The league office has an interesting call to make on the outcome of Tuesday night's Bulls-Knicks game.
Before defeating the Bulls 105-100, the Knicks made a mistake on the active roster sheet that each team must turn in before every game. New York had Renaldo Balkman listed twice and omitted Quentin Richardson, who started and scored 5 points.
A courtside observer said the referees decided that as long as the three players listed as inactive were correct, then the roster of active players didn't matter.
But according to the 2007-08 NBA Case Book, Richardson should not have been allowed to participate in the game. There is a question in the case book specifically pertaining to this issue, which reads as follows:
"While the Crew Chief is reviewing the Active List, Player A13 is not listed but is warming up with the team. What is the procedure?
Player A13 will be told he must immediately leave the court. Only players on the Active List are allowed to be in uniform on the court and/or the bench."
Asked about the situation after the game, Bulls coach Jim Boylan wasn't sure what will happen.
"I know you're supposed to turn in a sheet that has the names of all the players that are participating in the game," Boylan said. "That was not done correctly by the Knicks. Whatever the league does, the referees said they could change it and allowed them to make a correction. It's up to the league to decide what will happen."
Deng still out: Luol Deng missed his second game Tuesday with a sore left Achilles and will take two more days of rest before the next game in Philadelphia.
The Bulls were short-handed at small forward against the Knicks since Andres Nocioni was limited to 16 minutes because of flu-like symptoms. Before the game, Jim Boylan admitted he's not sure when Deng will be ready.
"We're hoping he can come back quickly, but it's out of my hands," Boylan said. "It's how he feels. What the docs think. What (trainer) Fred (Tedeschi) thinks. We're hoping he comes back soon, but there's no telling at this point."
Noah takes center circle: Fans may have noticed that the Bulls developed a new pregame ritual in recent weeks. At the end of introductions, instead of getting in a circle and simply rocking back and forth, now rookie Joakim Noah jumps into the middle and does a little screaming and gesturing.
Asked about his role in the pregame huddle, Noah wasn't even sure how he got the job.
"Tyrus (Thomas) used to do it and he got tired of doing it," Noah said. "I was in the huddle and they just pushed me in there. So it was just my turn. Every time I just get pushed in there. I just do it. I don't even know who's pushing me."