'Sluggish' start to strong game for Thomas
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - An elbow to the head didn't seem to knock Tyrus Thomas off his game.
After sitting out five days and missing two games with a concussion, Thomas returned Tuesday night to produce 16 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks against Detroit.
The third-year forward even knocked down the second 3-point basket of his pro career in the final minute of the fourth quarter as a frantic Bulls comeback fell short.
"I felt a little sluggish in the beginning, a little slow," Thomas said. "Once I got my legs under me (I was fine). We've just got to find a way to win."
Thomas wasn't afraid to use his jump shot and hit 5 of 8 field-goal attempts. He had a dunk blocked by Detroit's Jason Maxiell in the second quarter but returned the favor a few minutes later.
Snow time for Bulls: The weather in Detroit was just as bad as it was in Chicago on Tuesday.
After boarding the bus to travel to the morning shootaround, Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro decided to cancel the workout and avoid a messy ride through snowy streets.
"I didn't think it was smart to spend 2½ hours on the bus to come to a cold arena," he said.
Instead, the Bulls watched film and held a walk-through in one of the ballrooms of the team hotel, which isn't all that unusual.
Because of the weather, Bulls radio analyst Bill Wennington didn't make it to the Palace. He contributed to the broadcast by watching the game on television from the WMVP studio in Chicago.
Attack school begins: Before Tuesday's game, Vinny Del Negro said he hoped rookie guard Derrick Rose could learn something from 13-year veteran Allen Iverson.
"Allen is very, very aggressive," Del Negro said. "He's always in the attack mode, has a lot of confidence and just keeps coming at you.
"I think with Derrick's athletic ability and skill level, Derrick's mind-set sometimes is not to be quite as aggressive, and that's when I get on him a little bit. He starts being more aggressive and it opens things up for us."
Hunter comes home: Veteran Bulls guard Lindsey Hunter spent 12 of his 16 NBA seasons playing for the Pistons, including the last five.
So he had an interesting perspective on the Bulls, who at one point appeared to be a challenger for Detroit's usual top spot in the Central Division.
"They were young and up-and-coming," Hunter said. "The year they beat Miami (in the 2006-07 first round), everybody kind of took notice, and we really took them seriously in that next round of the playoffs.
"We didn't take them lightly at all. We were prepared and mentally were focused, because we knew they had the ability to beat us."