Skiles apologizes for harsh words
Anyone who's had the misfortune of witnessing the Bulls' sputtering 2-8 start knows there are far bigger problems on this team than how fast Tyrus Thomas runs up and down the court.
During the first few days of the road trip, whenever coach Scott Skiles was asked about the performance of an individual player, he usually responded by saying the team is playing so poorly, it is unfair to single out any individual.
That's why it made little sense for Skiles to single out Thomas on Tuesday afternoon in Denver, knocking the second-year forward for not running the floor hard.
"We ask him to sprint the floor," Skiles said in Denver. "To my knowledge in his career he hasn't done it one time. Not one time.
"Watch when he gets in there. Is he jogging or is he sprinting the floor? So I have to look out not only for … 'Can somebody help me win a game tonight?' but balance that against trying to get him to be a high-level player."
The Bulls coach backtracked a day later at the Berto Center. Skiles said he apologized to Thomas personally and also shared his regrets with the media.
"I was way too harsh," Skiles said. "That was a mistake on my part. It's hard when you say something and you're quoted accurately to back up and say 'I didn't mean it that way.'
"But that is honestly the case. I had a little something else going on, got distracted and I was way too harsh."
Thomas started the first six games of the season, then gave way to Andres Nocioni when the road trip began last Thursday in Phoenix.
Thomas didn't see the court at all in the second half of a victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, or the first half a day later against the Lakers.
He played 11 minutes without recording a point or rebound in Tuesday's 112-91 loss at Denver.
The hyperathletic 6-foot-9 forward is averaging 6.9 points and 5.0 rebounds.
Thomas, the No. 4 pick of last year's draft, is surely a source of frustration. More than running the floor quickly, Thomas could use some of Dennis Rodman's attitude that every shot attempt is a pass to him and grab more offensive rebounds.
Besides strong performances against Philadelphia and Detroit, Thomas has been mostly quiet. But let's face it, two good games puts him ahead of Kirk Hinrich, Ben Wallace and many other Bulls this season. The 2-8 start has truly been a group effort.
"Tyrus is still finding his game," Skiles said. "That's why I was upset with myself about the comments. He's a young guy finding his game.
"Size-wise, he's in between sizes, in between a three and a four. Unfortunately right now, we've got him out there down low, doing battle with huge people. So he's learning what he can and can't get away with down there, those kind of things.
"We're encouraging him offensively to have freedom. (Tuesday) night, for instance, one of the (foul) calls I questioned and he got 2 quick ones. I felt I had to take him out of the game because Noc already had 2 and we were trying to guard the whole team's foul trouble. So he's also had some circumstances that went against him."
Thomas was not available for comment Wednesday. Most of the Bulls players left the Berto Center quickly without speaking to the media.