McGraw: Will Kings jettison Corbin for Karl?
Chicago is usually friendly territory for former DePaul star Tyrone Corbin. But he's in an awkward situation as interim coach of the Sacramento Kings.
While Corbin presses on, the Kings have engaged in a very public courting of veteran coach George Karl. According to multiple reports, Karl is expected to take over as head coach in Sacramento after the all-star break.
"I'm just concentrating on the game tonight and the game tomorrow night in Milwaukee and we'll move from there," Corbin said before Tuesday's game at the United Center.
One of the storylines in the Karl saga was the team waiting to get approval for the switch from all-star center DeMarcus Cousins. Before Tuesday's game, Cousins released a statement denying any involvement in the coach selection. The Kings already fired coach Mike Malone on Dec. 15.
"I wasn't consulted when the decision was made to fire Mike Malone, and I'm not being consulted now," Cousins said in the statement. "I just hope they make a decision soon and stick with it.
"George Karl is an experienced, proven coach and if that is who they chose to coach this team, I will support it. I do not like all these discussions in the media while we have a coach in place. It is a distraction and not fair to coach Corbin and this team."
Window is shaded:
After Sunday's win in Orlando, Pau Gasol talked about how there's always a limited window to win an NBA championship and teams must take advantage when given the chance.
Asked about those comments Tuesday, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau saw only a window with limited view.
"To me, the idea of a window is like you're not concentrating on the right things," Thibodeau told reporters at shootaround. "What you have to concentrate on is each and every day, what you're doing, how you prepare to play well. The talk is talk, that's all it is. It's the actions that you're looking at: Are you practicing well? Are you preparing well? Are you doing your job?
"And if we get everyone doing that then our chances of winning are going to be good. And if we don't, then the results aren't going to be good. I think when you start looking ahead and looking at things that way that doesn't help."
Crazy numbers:
The Bulls were credited with just 12 rebounds in Tuesday's first half, none on the offensive end. The team record for fewest rebounds in a half is 8, set last season against Sacramento. … The Bulls trailed Orlando on Sunday by 6 points with 32.6 seconds remaining and came back to win. According to ESPN Stats & Info, over the last 15 seasons, teams that were down 6 with between 30 and 40 seconds left had won 17 times out of a possible 1,393 games.
Bull horns:
Ex-Bull Kyle Korver of the Atlanta Hawks was added to the Eastern Conference all-star squad Tuesday, replacing the injured Dwyane Wade. … Heading into Tuesday's game, the Bulls were 12-3 when using a starting lineup of Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Mike Dunleavy, Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol. The 3 losses? To Dallas, Golden State and Brooklyn, all at home.