Bulls figure to miss Harris

With a week of practice under their belts, the Bulls take the floor for their preseason opener tonight against the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse.

One significant change from last season is second-year coach Vinny Del Negro won't have the vast basketball knowledge of Del Harris sitting beside him on the bench. Harris retired after 40 years in coaching.

Harris will be missed, but one way to look at it is Del Negro spent a year inside the classroom of one of the most distinguished professors in the sport.

"I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anybody that has as much knowledge and experience as Del," Del Negro said. "In my situation, I had a lot of ideas and kind of knew the way I wanted to do things. There are so many things thrown at you, having someone there who has been through it for a lot of years helped guide me through.

"He taught me a lot and got me going hopefully in the right direction. I think our time management has already been better, our energy in practice. We still talk periodically and he's always very supportive."

Roster trimmed: So much for the Bulls needing some extra big men to help while Aaron Gray is sidelined with a stress fracture in his left fibula. Second-year center Steven Hill was released following Thursday's practice.

Gray, who is expected to miss 6-8 weeks, was at the Berto Center wearing a knee-to-toe walking boot.

Tickets available: Bulls individual game tickets go on sale today at 10 a.m. at TicketMaster outlets, the United Center box office, online at bulls.com and by phone at 1-800-4NBA-TIX.

Bull horns: Joakim Noah has the 14th best-selling NBA jersey in Europe, according to the NBA. Kobe Bryant is No. 1. ... After a one-year absence, the Bulls tip-off luncheon will return Oct. 21 at the Hyatt Regency downtown. ... Every Bulls preseason game will be televised, beginning with tonight's opener at Indiana on Comcast SportsNet-plus at 6 p.m. Next Tuesday's game in London against Utah will be shown on NBA TV.