Hey, Vinny: Keeping Thomas a starter is the right call

Not sure if this is a true dilemma in the mind of Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro, but starting Tyrus Thomas in Thursday's season opener against San Antonio is the right call.

The reason is simple: Starting matters to Thomas and the Bulls need their fourth-year forward to continue moving forward.

There are times when a little implied disrespect can coax a better performance from an athlete, but not in this case.

The Bulls played well late last season when Thomas became the full-time starter at power forward. He feels he has earned the right to remain in the lineup, and he's right.

Even if it turns out that Thomas and Joakim Noah are not the Bulls' best inside combination, no conclusions can be drawn this early in the season when both players supposedly had a strong summer of workouts.

Thomas should get a chance to prove himself on the court, and if changes are needed later, so be it.

Hopefully Thomas won't have any more episodes like the one against Orlando last week when he quit on a play after rookie James Johnson didn't pass him the ball.

There's another question wrapped up in the power-forward issue. Thomas, Noah, Brad Miller and rookie Taj Gibson all played well in the preseason, so which combinations deserve the most playing time?

No one on the Bulls is better at throwing lob passes than Miller, so playing him together with Thomas - one of the league's most athletic big men - makes sense.

"That's a blessing-slash-curse, when you have four big guys who really played well," Miller said following Sunday's practice at the Berto Center. "Plus you have Aaron Gray coming back (from a stress fracture in his left fibula) in a couple weeks.

"I think it's going to depend on matchups a lot. All the big guys have to be willing to accept that if it's not your night, don't dwell on that. We have someone who can really step it up and have a solid night behind them."

By the way, Miller said starting means nothing to him. Given a choice, he'd prefer to stay a substitute.

"Normally you've got young guys that come off the bench (on opposing teams)," he said. "You can use your tricks on them."

The Bulls had three guards out with injuries in Friday's 93-70 preseason win over Washington, so Thomas spent time at small forward, sometimes playing on the front line with Noah and Miller.

Del Negro isn't sure if he will use that lineup again, but giving Thomas some time at small forward is definitely under consideration.

"I'm more interested in him defensively at the three and helping us control the defensive glass," Del Negro said.

As he has mentioned before, Del Negro doesn't mind Thomas shooting the outside jumper. He's smart not to write it off. Thomas works on his shot and has good mechanics. He may be a reliable jump shooter soon enough.

"I never criticize him," Del Negro said. "I believe in giving guys confidence. When Tyrus is at the four, he needs to play more around the basket. When he's at the three, he can play more on the perimeter."

Evidence suggests the Bulls will start Thomas, Noah, Derrick Rose, John Salmons and Luol Deng in the season opener. Asked Sunday if he has settled on a starting lineup, Del Negro wouldn't commit.

"I don't think it's set in stone," he said. "I have an idea right now, but I want to see how healthy we are and how practices go the next few days and then we'll decide."

This is one of those times when the obvious choice makes the most sense.

Practice draws a crowd: The Bulls got a nice boost Sunday when all of their main players participated in a full practice at the Berto Center.

That hasn't happened at least since Oct. 1, the day before Derrick Rose injured his right ankle in the preseason opener at Indiana.

Asked if there is any chance he will be 100 percent by Thursday, when the Bulls open the seasons against the Spurs, Rose said no.

"That's far away still," Rose said. "Out there, it's still kind of stiff. I told Lindsey (Hunter) and them I know how they feel when they've got to stretch out. Usually I just go out there and run, but now I've really got to take stretching into consideration."