Mini-break gives Bulls extra practice time

The Bulls typically hit the road for two weeks in early February when Disney on Ice takes over the United Center.

This season's schedule was odd, because the Bulls were given four days off in the middle of the trip, allowing for two practice days before heading to Houston - where the road trip resumes on Wednesday.

"It's coming at a good time. We had a lot of games last month," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said after Tuesday's practice. "It's a chance for us to gather ourselves and get some work in; get some rest, which is good, and lock into what we have to do moving forward."

Mike Dunleavy remains sidelined with a right ankle injury, but Thibodeau appreciated how the Bulls were able to get two days of rest, then two practices with the rest of the squad intact. Mastering Thibodeau's defensive schemes typically requires repetition in practice.

"That's a step in the right direction. The practice part is really important," Thibodeau said. "Working together as a group is really important. Hopefully we can build.

"It's not anything where all of a sudden, magically it's going to be fixed. You always have to develop it. If we're doing the right things every day, good things will happen."

Defense somewhat effective:

When Tom Thibodeau measures defensive strength, he likes to look at adjusted field-goal percentage, which factors in the number of 3-point baskets given up.

"Sometimes if you're going strictly by points allowed and we're playing at a faster pace, there's going to be more possessions in the game so therefore there will be more scores," Thibodeau said. "But adjusted field goal percentage, we were second last year, we're fourth this year and I think we can still get better. So there's room to improve but there's also a lot of good things that are being done."

The Bulls rank second in the league in giving up the fewest 3-point baskets. The Bulls allow an average of 6.1 made baskets from 3-point range, while Portland is at 5.8.

Hawks streak ends:

The Atlanta Hawks' 19-game win streak ended in New Orleans on Tuesday. Coincidentally, the Bulls play at New Orleans on Saturday.

Atlanta's streak ended up tied for the sixth-longest in NBA history, well behind the Los Angeles Lakers' 33-game streak in 1971-72. The last team to win 20 in a row was Miami, which had a 27-game streak snapped by the Bulls on Mar. 27, 2013.