Bulls' slow starts habit-forming
If the two deafening explosions and columns of fire that punctuate Pistons pregame introductions weren't enough to awaken the Bulls on Tuesday, there's no telling what will work.
The Bulls fell behind 17-4 at the start of the contest and never fully recovered on the way to a 104-98 loss. The team took Wednesday off and will hold a holiday practice at the Berto Center before departing for Miami late this afternoon.
The Detroit game marked the fifth time in the last six outings that the Bulls have fallen behind by at least 10 points in the first quarter. Utah jumped to a 15-4 edge, Boston took a 25-13 lead, the Clippers were up 20-10 and New Jersey ran out to a 23-8 advantage on Dec. 13.
"It's like it takes us to fall behind by double digits to realize, 'Oh, we're playing tonight,' " guard Ben Gordon said after the loss to the Pistons. "We've got to do a better job coming out with a burst of energy and not getting down by so many points, not digging such a deep hole for ourselves."
The Bulls rallied to win three of those games - all at home. On the flip side, they lost the last two times they took double-digit leads in the first quarter, on the road at Memphis and Charlotte.
Against the Pistons, the Bulls were able to trim a 19-point deficit down to 1 in the third quarter, but Detroit responded with 10 straight points while Derrick Rose, Gordon and Andres Nocioni all went to the bench with 4 fouls.
"No explanation," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We talk about it and we go over everything. We just have to have more of a physical mindset early in the game and understand the importance of it.
"In the third quarter, we started to get more physical, we were more active. We made a run, got them back on their heels a little bit. But then we got in foul trouble and things turned again. Just kind of a roller-coaster game and frustrating.
Silent night for Deng: Luol Deng (6 points, 11 rebounds) couldn't pick up the slack when three starters got into foul trouble against Detroit.
But Deng has shown some improvement in December, averaging 14.5 points and shooting .485 from the field. In November, he produced 12.4 points and shot .390.
"He's trying to find himself a little bit," Vinny Del Negro said. "I've got him at the three, the two, the four, mixed lineups. He's just got to keep working, keep hustling and finding ways to make an impact on the game. When he comes out aggressive and he's after it defensively, no question he's a big, big plus for us. We need him to play well to have a chance, especially on the road."
Bull horns: Andres Nocioni kept a hot hand in Detroit, hitting 7 of 10 shots. In his last four games, Nocioni is averaging 17.8 points and shooting 55.1 percent from the field. ... In the last three full games he's played, which spanned time off with a concussion, Tyrus Thomas has averaged 18.0 points and 8.7 rebounds. He finished with 16 and 12 against the Pistons. ... The Bulls are 11-5 when they score 100 points, 2-10 when they don't.