Small lineup getting job done for Bulls
For the record, the smallest possible lineup the Bulls could use tonight in Detroit would feature longtime Piston Lindsey Hunter in the backcourt with Derrick Rose.
Ben Gordon would have to slide down to small forward, 6-foot-5 Larry Hughes moves to power forward and coach Vinny Del Negro could choose between 6-7 Andres Nocioni or Thabo Sefolosha at center.
It may sound extreme, but the Bulls finished off Saturday's victory over Utah with all of the players mentioned above - minus Hunter - on the floor for the final 8:40 of the fourth quarter.
"Whenever we have played small, we've played pretty well," Gordon said following Monday's practice at the Berto Center. "It's not really surprising. I'm surprised the way we rebounded the ball with that small unit out there (against Utah).
"I think once we were able to get those rebounds and get out on the break, that really hurt them."
The Bulls were able to get by with what Del Negro calls "gang rebounding." Nocioni led the Bulls with 7 defensive boards.
The smaller lineup should work well as long as the Bulls continue to shoot better than 40 percent from 3-point range, which they've done over the last nine games.
The team's best inside scoring threat against Utah was Rose driving to the basket and challenging the Jazz big men.
On Monday, Rose said even though he's getting knocked around by taller defenders sometimes, he's not about to change his game plan.
"It's way tougher than college, but that's my life," he said. "That's my career and I've got to attack the hoop for us to win. I've just got to get used to it and suck it up."
The Bulls again will be short-handed inside tonight. Drew Gooden (right ankle sprain) probably is out for at least another week, while Tyrus Thomas (concussion) will be a game-time decision. Thomas did shoot around and ride the exercise bike Monday.
Tonight's opponent won't be caught off-guard by a small lineup. If first-year Detroit coach Michael Curry sticks with his usual rotation, the Pistons will meet the Bulls in the basement.
Struggling to cope with the addition of ball dominator Allen Iverson, Curry has been starting Iverson and second-year guard Rodney Stuckey together, with Rip Hamilton at small forward, Tayshaun Prince at power forward and Rasheed Wallace at center.
Centers Kwame Brown and Amir Johnson, who started 20 games between them earlier this season, have gone largely unused lately. Veteran Antonio McDyess is getting most of the playing time off the bench after being traded to Denver, released and re-signed by Detroit.
The Pistons have gone 10-11 since Iverson joined the roster, losing their last two games to Atlanta and Utah.
Even though Iverson is an accomplished scorer, the Pistons have broken the 100-point barrier just four times in their last 16 games. The Bulls have gone the other direction, averaging 107.6 points in the last eight contests.
"My goal is to just have more points at the end of the game than the other team," Del Negro said. "Because I don't think we can control the paint as well as anyone would like right now, we have to be able to score the basketball.
"We have to get better defensively on rotations and things. That's something we've stressed since Day One. That's our main focus."
<p class="factboxheadblack">Tonight's tipoff</p> <p class="News">Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills, 7 p.m.</p> <p class="News"><b>TV:</b> Channel 9</p> <p class="News"><b>Radio:</b> WMVP 1000-AM</p> <p class="News"><b>Update:</b> The Pistons (14-11) are still struggling to get comfortable with a new lineup, going 10-11 since acquiring Allen Iverson from Denver for Chauncey Billups. Iverson is averaging 19.0 ppg with Detroit, while Richard Hamilton is at 17.8 ppg, Including playoffs, the Bulls have been a respectable 5-6 at the Palace since the 2004-05 season.</p> <p class="News"><b>Next:</b> Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena on Friday, 4 p.m.</p>