Bulls show confidence in Del Negro with win over Pacers
Bulls general manager Gar Forman addressed the media before the Bulls battled Indiana on Tuesday night at the United Center.
There was no vote of confidence regarding coach Vinny Del Negro, just confidence the Bulls can play better than they have during an 11-17 start to the season.
"Vinny is our coach," Forman said. "Our goal is to get better each and every day. As a management team, we're exploring all options in order to get better. We expect our coaches to work each and every day to get better."
Forman mentioned that he met with the players Monday and voiced the same expectation of continued improvement. It all worked out against the Pacers. The Bulls shot 53 percent from the field and recorded a season-high in points during a 104-95 victory.
"He just told us don't worry about all the (coaching) rumors going around," guard John Salmons said. "Just stay focused and continue to play hard and stay together."
One difference in Tuesday's game doesn't seem attributable to coaching. The Bulls were sparked by the ex-Sacramento Kings, Salmons and Brad Miller.
That pair combined for 33 points off the bench and accounted for 14 points in a 19-4 run that ended the third quarter and effectively put the game on ice.
In the previous five games, Miller averaged a paltry 2.0 points and 2.4 rebounds, while Salmons scored 9.0 points per contest and shot 33 percent from the field.
Derrick Rose scored a team-high 28 points against Indiana, hitting 8 of 10 shots in the second half. He didn't think Monday's meeting had anything to do with the Bulls' strong performance.
"Not really. We knew what was going on, but we can't let it affect our practice," he said. "All we can do as professionals is go out there, do our job and just worry about our family, as I say, and let the people in the front office do what they're supposed to do."
Rose seems more willing to take on a scoring role. A few weeks ago when asked if he should be more aggressive, Rose stated that he's a point guard first and needs to set up his teammates. Against the Pacers, he took twice as many shots (20) as anyone else on the team.
"I think they were good shots," Del Negro said. "I think Derrick's doing a better job attacking off the pick-and-roll, not with one dribble, but really getting in the paint and making guys pay for that.
"Early on I thought he was taking that one dribble off the pick-and-roll and going east to west instead of north to south. We want to stay in that attack mode."
The Bulls (12-17) also played the up-tempo game they crave in the first quarter, when they shot 67 percent and opened a 34-15 advantage.
Still smarting from a 34-point loss at Miami on Sunday, Indiana (9-21) quickly recovered and took a brief lead in the third quarter. The 19-4 run gave the Bulls an 87-74 edge heading into the fourth, and the Pacers never got closer than 9 points.
Second-year center Roy Hibbert got Joakim Noah in foul trouble and led Indiana with 17 points. In his second game back following a seven-week injury layoff, Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas had 15 rebounds and 3 blocks, which helped offset a 2-for-10 shooting night.
During Forman's talk with reporters, he mentioned that no one in the organization is satisfied with the Bulls' start. For those who made a big deal out of Forman not talking Monday, he emphasized the team's philosophy of not responding to every newspaper or Internet rumor that comes along.
ESPN.com posted a story Sunday night saying the Bulls had decided to fire Del Negro but hadn't settled yet on a replacement.
"I feel we shouldn't talk about evaluations with any personnel we do internally," Forman said. "We are all being evaluated at all times. That goes from me to our management staff to our coaching staff, to our players, and those are things we keep internally."
<p class="factboxheadblack">Mike McGraw's game tracker</p> <p class="News">Bulls 104, Pacers 95</p> <p class="News"><b>Playing it safe:</b> Nothing does more for a coach's job security than a solid win over an inferior opponent. Derrick Rose scored 28 points and the Bulls recorded their highest point total of the season.</p> <p class="News"><b>Solid start: </b>The Bulls rolled to a 34-15 lead at the end of the first quarter, then gave it all back. After trailing briefly in the third, John Salmons and Brad Miller sparked a 19-4 run, and the Bulls were never seriously threatened down the stretch.</p> <p class="News"><b>Actions over words:</b> General manager Gar Forman spoke before the game, but the message should have been obvious all along. If coach Vinny Del Negro keeps winning, everything will be fine.</p> <div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=347418">McGrady just might interest Bulls again<span class="date"> [12/29/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>