Consistent defense still lacking
The Bulls limited Memphis to 33 percent shooting in the first half Tuesday night, though it's debatable whether the Bulls' defense was effective or the Grizzlies are just really bad.
In the first six games after trading away Ben Wallace and Joe Smith, the Bulls allowed their opponents to shoot 46 percent from the field. Accomplished over the whole season, that number would rank 10th-worst in the NBA.
"Really what we need to do is be a better defensive team," coach Jim Boylan said prior to Tuesday's victory. "Get the stops we need at the right time, preferably in the last five minutes of the game so we can get out in transition and get some easy opportunities as you're pushing the ball back at people. I would like to see us get back to that."
Asked specifically about newcomer Larry Hughes' defense, Boylan reflected back on when Hughes was voted first-team all-defense in 2005.
"Larry, he's been OK," Boylan said. "We would like to him to get back to playing the way he did when he was in Washington. He was a real aggressive defender who really got into people, played guys 1-on-1. With his length and his quickness, I think he can be a great asset to us defensively."
Simmons sticks with it: Newcomer Cedric Simmons was a witness to one of the key moments in recent Bulls history. His predraft workout at the Berto Center in June 2006 pitted him against Hilton Armstrong and Thabo Sefolosha against Brandon Roy.
"I just remember playing 2-on-2 for 40 minutes, with no water break," Simmons said.
That workout was significant, because the Bulls eventually decided they had to have Sefolosha, trading up three spots to get him, and eliminated Roy from consideration for the No. 2 pick they had from the Knicks.
Simmons and Armstrong were both drafted by the Hornets. But while Armstrong made his way into the rotation, Simmons was traded to Cleveland and then the Bulls.
"With the Hornets, I played probably the first 40 games, like 20 minutes a night (as a rookie)," the 6-foot-9 forward said. "Once guys got healthy like David West, I wasn't playing as much. In the summertime, I got an ankle injury. That kind of set me back. My summer went to waste.
"It's just something that's going to make me stronger, make me hungry. Everybody just needs the right situation or the right chance to show what they can do."
Bull horns: After trading their three elder statesmen on Feb. 21, the Bulls now have the youngest roster in the league at an average age of 24 years, 138 days. Portland is second-youngest. … Thabo Sefolosha sat out his third game with a groin injury. … Shannon Brown made his Bulls debut, playing the final 1:21 and scoring 3 points.