Injuries force Hunter to handle ball in Bulls season finale
The word to best describe the Bulls' preseason finale at the United Center was pointless.
Not necessary because the game meant nothing and was officiated by three replacement referees that will be sent back to the D-League tomorrow.
The Bulls literally played without a point guard at times during their 93-70 romp over the Washington Wizards on Friday.
Derrick Rose (ankle), Kirk Hinrich (elbow) and Jannero Pargo (hip) all sat out, leaving 38-year-old Lindsey Hunter and anyone with some handles to play the point.
After a slow start - 18 of their first 20 shots were misses - the Bulls' all-large lineup looked very good. No need to get carried away. The Wizards wanted to play this game the way a Congressman wants to host an extra town hall meeting on health care. But even with the odd lineup, the Bulls (6-2) ran away with this one.
"It's great for us," said Tyrus Thomas, who led the Bulls with 19 points. "We have to do that just to make a statement, period. Preseason or not, just to let people know this is what we plan on doing every night."
The Wizards (4-4) used all their regulars with the exception of power forward Antawn Jamison, who is expected to miss at least three more weeks with a shoulder injury.
Bulls center Brad Miller piled up 18 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Joakim Noah capped off a strong preseason by finishing with 16 rebounds and 13 points. Rookie Taj Gibson finished with 13 points, making it seven double-figure scoring nights in eight preseason games for the No. 26 draft pick.
"We have some versatile players, some length," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We shared the basketball. I thought some of our passing and unselfish play, that was a good sign for us."
When he played in Sacramento, Miller used to average more assists than Mike Bibby, so it's no surprise Miller piled up 6 assists in the first half alone, including 3 successful alley-oops.
Thomas went to town when guarded by Washington's Mike Miller in the second quarter and scored 9 points in five possessions.
Late in the first half, Wizards forward Caron Butler drove past Thomas and Noah on the baseline, only to have his reverse layup attempt blocked by Gibson. There were times when Luol Deng guarded Gilbert Arenas and Thomas was on Randy Foye.
Before the game, Del Negro threatened to use rookie James Johnson at point guard. As it turned out, John Salmons handled that duty most every time Hunter took a rest, with a brief cameo by Derrick Byars late in the contest. Hunter ended up logging 38 minutes and was at least partly responsible for Gilbert Arenas hitting just 3 of 12 shots.
Rose continued to report progress in his recovery from a sore right ankle. He practiced Thursday for the first time in nearly three weeks and had no soreness when he woke up Friday morning.
"I'm still not that explosive yet, but it's coming," Rose said before the contest.
Thomas was back in the starting lineup Friday for the first time since the preseason opener. He missed four games with a bruised hip, then came off the bench twice once he recovered.
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