Bulls win finale; plenty of changes figure to be coming
Give Bulls interim coach Jim Boylan some credit.
He stood in front of cameras and microphones following a season-ending 107-97 victory over Toronto on Wednesday and admitted a glaring strategic gaffe.
"Well, I should have been playing Aaron Gray all along 35 minutes," Boylan said, only half-joking.
The rookie center started in place of a delayed Joakim Noah and nearly pulled off the Bulls' first 20-20 game in four years. Gray finished with 19 points, 22 rebounds and missed a pair of chances at an extra basket during the final four minutes.
Gray was a monster near the rim and Tyrus Thomas scored 26 points, 1 short of his career-high. But otherwise, the Bulls simply wrapped up a brutally disappointing season with a 33-49 record, 4 games behind eighth-place Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the East.
They'll now await a summer that promises to bring changes. No one on the home team's bench -- players or coaches -- can confidently say he's certain to be back with the team next season.
"My thoughts still are the same (about wanting to stay with the Bulls), but we've got a logjam at the guard spot," said Ben Gordon, who played just 10 minutes against the Raptors, none in the second half.
"If something changes, it's a part of the business. One thing I've learned is you have to develop tough skin and you have to roll with the punches. I think everybody's expecting something to change. It's going to be interesting."
General manager John Paxson has said he'll meet with Boylan and the coaching staff today. Beyond that, it's unclear when Boylan's fate will be revealed.
Most observers do not expect Boylan to return and the Bulls have been preparing to launch a coaching search. The names on their list should include former NBA coaches Jeff Van Gundy, Rick Carlisle, Terry Porter and Mike Fratello, along with Boston assistant Tom Thibodeau.
Before Wednesday's game, Boylan confirmed that he'll ask Paxson for the chance to coach the team again next season. After 3½ seasons as a Bulls assistant, Boylan replaced Scott Skiles on Dec. 27 and went 24-33 in the head coach's chair.
"I would love to get a chance to coach this team, because I feel there's work to be done," Boylan said. "I was brought in here in the middle of the season, kind of a tough situation. A lot of things happened.
"I'd like to have an opportunity to get my feet on the ground. I think if you look at our statistics from the time I took over to this point right here, they're much improved over what they were the first eight weeks of the season."
Asked where he thought this team went wrong after posting a 49-33 record a year ago, Boylan wasn't afraid to offer some straightforward criticism.
"I think our lack of maturity as a team," he said. "I thought we were at a different place. At times this year we let things bother us that I thought we were past.
"I thought we had a formula for how to be successful and everybody understood it. But it seemed like as you reflect back on the season that that wasn't the case."
There would have been a silver lining to a Bulls' loss. Since Charlotte beat Philadelphia on Wednesday, the Bulls and Bobcats could have finished tied for the NBA's eighth-worst record and gone to a coin flip. Barring some lottery luck, the Bulls will now have the No. 9 pick in the June 26 draft.
"When I'm at home and don't have to get up and go to practice, that's when it will really sink in" Gordon said of the Bulls missing the playoffs. "I know it's definitely going to motivate me more than ever. I have a lot of time to reflect on how I'm going to approach next season."
Boylan finished the game with a young lineup, using Gray, Noah and Thomas across the front line, with guards Thabo Sefolosha and Chris Duhon for most of the second half.
The Bulls' most recent 20-point, 20-rebound game was by Marcus Fizer, who actually reached 30 points and 20 boards against Orlando on April 12, 2004.