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Thomas delivers holiday cheer with home makeover

Tyrus Thomas already created his own "Extreme Makeover" this week. Now his next task is to transform the Bulls back into a respectable team Saturday night against New Orleans.

Inspired by the popular television show, Thomas' charitable foundation chose a local family, got everyone out of the apartment for a few hours, then had a surprise waiting when they returned home.

"We painted the living room, dining room, brought in new furniture, TV, gifts, stuff like that," Thomas said. "It was cool. The family was very appreciative. The kids were happy, excited. It was mission accomplished."

The recipient of Thomas' makeover was Lateefah Allen, a single mother of six whose kids are ages 15, 13, 11, 9, 7 and 5.

"They kept it a secret, right until the family walked in," Thomas said. "After she got off work, they took her and the kids to eat pizza."

Thomas is already planning to do this again next year on a larger scale.

"I'll actually start earlier, at the beginning of the year, just getting different donations and companies," he said. "I could possibly do an entire home. It was something I put together in maybe three months. I think if I gave myself a whole year to do it, it would be done a lot better. It still was great. The first one's always going to be the best one."

Unless there's an unexpected setback, Thomas' first game back from a broken left arm will be at the United Center tonight against the Hornets. He suffered the injury during a weight-training session Nov. 6 and had surgery a day later to repair the break with a metal plate.

There's no doubt the Bulls missed Thomas during the six weeks he was sidelined. His athleticism brings a different dimension to both ends of the court.

Whether or not he'll make a difference right away remains to be seen. Coach Vinny Del Negro plans to bring Thomas off the bench against New Orleans and said playing time will depend on how the fourth-year forward is feeling. Thomas was able to work out during his recovery and claimed to be in game shape.

"He's been out awhile; he's only had one real practice, so it will be a little bit of a process," Del Negro said. "But it will be good to have another body out there and his athleticism obviously can help us."

Vinny keeps working: The Bulls have made two coaching changes on Christmas Eve during the past eight years, but obviously, Vinny Del Negro survived this holiday season.

"I don't have time to dwell on those things," he said Thursday. "I'm focused on the next opponent and preparing the right way.

"I love the challenge. Last year at this time, they were writing us off and we ended up doing OK. I look at that and say, 'Things are possible.' It's a different team this year, different set of circumstances and you never know what's going to happen."

Men in the mirror: Luol Deng, one of the Bulls' captains, stressed that everyone on the team needs to look in the mirror when things don't go well, rather than use the coach as a scapegoat. Since starting the season 6-4, the Bulls have gone 4-13.

"I feel like I've been a bad leader," Deng said. "I'm sure Kirk (Hinrich) does. I'm sure Derrick (Rose) feels he could run the team better. I'm sure guys think they could play better. When you lose, this is what happens. It's supposed to. When you're losing, everybody's got to look at himself and try to do something better."

Misery gets company: One of several embarrassing games for the Bulls this month was a 32-point home loss to Toronto. The Bulls managed to score just 78 points against a Raptors team that was giving up an average of 114 on the road.

The Bulls have some company, though. The Pistons lost at home to Toronto on Wednesday by 30 and scored just 64 points.

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