Del Negro keeps Bulls' offense simple

While the Bulls continued to show slight preseason progress, first-year coach Vinny Del Negro announced a notable change of strategy before Saturday's 88-80 loss to the Utah Jazz at the United Center.

Del Negro is scaling back the lesson plan, making the schemes simpler. These preseason games have been swarming with scouts, particularly from the Western Conference, and one agreed that the Bulls are keeping things incredibly simple, sometimes running the same basic pick-and-roll play on several consecutive possessions.

"Probably at the beginning, I was throwing in too many things," Del Negro said. "As I've learned the team a little bit better, we've kind of pulled back on that and tried to focus in on the few things we're really trying to accomplish on both ends. Trying to make it as simple as we can and then add to the package as we move forward."

The results weren't great against Utah, since the home team shot 33.8 percent from the field and managed just 12 assists. The best performances were Tyrus Thomas' third double-double of preseason (15 points, 14 rebounds) and Joakim Noah grabbing 10 rebounds in 23 minutes. Asked about the simplified offense, one veteran guard thinks the Bulls are ready to take on more.

"I think we can handle it," said Larry Hughes. "We do have some young guys on this team, as far as age. But for the most part, we've got guys who have played in this league over four years. We want to be a running team, but we also have to put in some things where we can get god execution, good plays without doing things out of a timeout."

Utah point guard and former Fighting Illini hero Deron Williams suffered a nasty-looking ankle injury at the 5:39 mark of the first quarter. Williams dribbled past a screen, launched an errant 3-pointer from the right wing, then turned his left ankle when he landed on the foot of Derrick Rose, who had jumped to contest the shot.

The injury created an alarming scene when Williams was carted from the bench to the locker room in a wheelchair, but the Jazz didn't seem to think it was anything more than a routine sprain. Utah will open the regular season in 10 days, however.

"That's life in basketball," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "You can sit around and feel sorry for yourself. The bottom line is, somebody else has got to step up and play."