Skiles confident Sefolosha will find his stride

On a roster of underperforming players, Thabo Sefolosha has managed to stand out.

The second-year guard from Switzerland has shot just 29.2 percent from the field and coughed up a number of unforced turnovers.

But coach Scott Skiles expressed confidence that Sefolosha will get comfortable soon.

"About midway through last season, he really settled in," Skiles said Wednesday at the Berto Center. "Some of the plays he was making now, he was making (early last season). Then he kind of settled down. So we don't think it's going to be midseason or anything like that. We think he's going to settle in and play much better."

Sefolosha had an impressive summer with the Swiss national team, eventually losing a two-game playoff to Luol Deng's Great Britain squad in European championship qualifying.

But on the Swiss team, Sefolosha was basically a one-man show. Going back to supporting minutes in the NBA has been a difficult adjustment.

"Whatever the coach asks you to do, you just try to do it," he said. "I think I'm trying a little too hard to try and make things happen out there. So just try to relax and play as team as much as we can."

Crisis of confidence: When asked if slumping guard Thabo Sefolosha may have lost confidence, Bulls coach Scott Skiles answered for every member of the team.

"You'd have to be unbelievably mentally tough right now and probably 30-plus years old, been through all kind of wars, to be playing the way we're playing and not have your confidence damaged a little bit," Skiles said. "I think that's human instinct for all of our guys."

Shooting woes unusual: Last year, the Bulls shot less than 40 percent from the field in 11 of 82 games. That's happened six times already this season and the Bulls hit exactly 40 percent in Tuesday's loss at Denver.

"We need get our minds off the shot-making and missing and get our minds focused on the defensive end and our transition game," Scott Skiles said. "It's inevitable that the hoop will open for us.

"As odd as it seems, I don't think we're that far away. There are several areas we need to tighten up. But it's not like we've fallen off a cliff. We look around the conference, and there are a lot of teams struggling to find their identity. We're in that boat right now."