Even Bulls have thoughts on Super Bowl
The Bulls returned to the Advocate Center on Monday for the first of two hometown practices before the ice-show road trip resumes in Houston.
Naturally, talk following practice quickly focused on the Super Bowl.
Bulls coach Tom Thibdeau, who grew up in Connecticut, isn't a lifelong Patriots fan, but he is an admirer of the current squad and New England coach Bill Belichick.
"It was an unbelievable game," Thibodeau said. "We actually talked about it (as a team before practice), just the range of emotion and how there's not much difference in winning and losing. One play here, one play there."
A few minutes later, Joakim Noah gave a different perspective when asked about the Super Bowl discussion and how the game turned on a last-minute goal-line interception.
"Yeah, one play can make a difference, but (darn), coach," Noah said, and he wasn't referring to Thibodeau. "I love (Seattle Seahawks coach) Pete Carroll, but I'm French and I know that was bad. That was the lesson I saw."
Noah was referring to the lesson of, "Give the ball to Marshawn Lynch on second-and-goal from the 1-yard line instead of throwing a slant pass." Even someone who grew up as an outsider to American football could recognize that.
It's not clear if any Super Bowl lessons will help the Bulls cure their erratic and inconsistent play. But two practice days probably won't hurt. Mike Dunleavy did not participate but should go Tuesday.
"Much needed," Thibodeau said. "They were sharp today. It was a good day of work. Got to keep building."
To recap the Bulls' road trip so far, they started by pulling off maybe their biggest win of the year, snapping Golden State's 19-game home winning streak. They followed by losing in double overtime to the lowly Los Angeles Lakers and then couldn't finish a late comeback against Phoenix.
Houston, New Orleans and Orlando are the stops on the second leg of the trip.
Thibodeau talked more about why he thought Sunday's Super Bowl was a good learning experience.
"Sometimes I think it's good to (discuss) stuff like that," he said. "Just the mental things that go into it and sometimes one play is the difference; it's the difference between maybe being a champion and not being a champion. That's why how you build your habits all year is so important - how you practice, how you prepare.
"You look at those two teams and you'd say the talent is pretty much equal. So what's going to separate you in the end?"
Thibodeau got a chance to visit with Belichick at the Patriots' practice facility while he worked for the Boston Celtics a few years ago.
"I had an opportunity to spend a day with him and (baseball manager) Tony La Russa," Thibodeau said. "It was a great day. He's probably the all-time greatest, both of those guys. I was very fortunate to have a day with the two of them.
"(Belichick) is great at preparation. You can tell. The day that I was there was an OTA (off-season training). Just the way they ran everything, from the meetings to the practices - everything mattered.
"There wasn't anything that was overlooked. You could see they had great practice habits, great concentration. (Tom) Brady was leading the charge. It was fantastic."
Thibodeau and Belichick also think alike. One of Thibodeau's favorite messages is, "Know your job, do your job." And the Patriots were wearing "Do Your Job" T-shirts at the Super Bowl.
"I'd like to get one," Thibodeau joked. "I'd like to get a bunch of them."
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