Boylan big fan of Hinrich
PHILADELPHIA -- The Bulls have some tough decisions to make this summer. One is whether Kirk Hinrich should continue to be the team's primary point guard.
As a whole, Hinrich hasn't had a great season. But coach Jim Boylan was full of praise for Hinrich's court leadership after the Bulls held off Atlanta on Tuesday.
"(The Hawks game) was as good as I've seen him since I've been here in Chicago," Boylan said.
Boylan gave Hinrich another chance to run the show Wednesday against the Sixers. Hinrich sat down early after picking up 2 quick fouls in the opening three minutes of the game. But when Hinrich got his fourth foul at the 8:15 mark of the third quarter, Boylan didn't take him out.
Hinrich couldn't save the Bulls on this night, but he finished with 18 points and 6 assists.
Boylan has said several times in recent days he thinks Hinrich's leadership has improved. The fifth-year guard addressed the topic before facing the Sixers.
"As soon as coach (Scott) Skiles got fired, he (Boylan) came to me and just expressed how he needed me to do it," Hinrich said. "It's just frustrating to try to do the right thing, then when you're not successful, when you're not winning games, it's hard to notice it. I'm trying to do a better job of running the game and everything like that."
Asked if he capable of holding down the point-guard spot permanently, Hinrich said, "I think I'm up for it. You just have to feel the game out. There are times to kind of let us play free and easy. There are times when you need to pull it back and make sure the ball goes to the right spot and we get a quality shot."
Thabo fights the pain: Back-to-back games are supposed to be tough on Thabo Sefolosha because of his nagging groin injury. But he was the Bulls' best player Wednesday, producing 20 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds after averaging 3.0 points in the previous five games.
"I was a little more determined," he said. "I've been just watching basically the last two games. So I had to be a little bit more aggressive when I catch the ball and look for my shot. That's what I did."
Bull horns: Joakim Noah bought approximately 75 tickets for a group of Florida alumni attending Wednesday's game, and he signed autographs afterward. Noah was scheduled to meet the Gators fans at the Jan. 11 game in Philadelphia, but the rookie center was suspended that night after arguing with assistant coach Ron Adams at the shootaround. … Chris Duhon played the final 3:25 against Philadelphia, marking his first game action since March 7 in Boston, two days before he missed a shootaround in Detroit.