Wallace deals with late-game bench time
LOS ANGELES -- With a 1-6 record and five games remaining on their annual circus road trip, the Bulls have plenty of bigger problems.
But it's always bound to attract controversy when a team's highest-paid player gets stuck on the bench.
The 112-102 loss to Phoenix marked the third straight game center Ben Wallace did not play at all in the fourth quarter. Wallace is making $15.5 million this season, the second of a four-year deal he signed with the Bulls as a free agent.
Following the game late Thursday night, Wallace was asked about never returning to court after the 3:49 mark of the third quarter.
"If I can't go out there and help this team get stops down the stretch, why am I here?" Wallace said.
With a day off before facing the Clippers and Lakers back-to-back this weekend, the Bulls practiced Friday in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Wallace refused to address the topic of playing time.
"We're still together," he said. "As long as we stay together as a team and give ourselves an opportunity to win, that's all you can ask."
Bulls coach Scott Skiles was asked about Wallace's late-game absence last week and answered that it's his job to win games, so he's not worried about hurting anyone's feelings with lineup choices.
"Each game's been unique," Skiles said Friday. "Last night, they had (6-foot-8 forward Boris) Diaw out there at (center) for the last six minutes of the game. You are either forced at that moment to go small with them, or if you've got a big, big player who's very versatile and can post up and can also play Diaw, you can go that route."
Skiles used Tyrus Thomas for most of the fourth quarter, except for an ineffective two-minute appearance by Joe Smith. The Suns played a small lineup for the final 8:42 after center Amare Stoudemire picked up his fifth foul.
"I wouldn't put a lot of stock into any of that," Skiles said. "I expect Ben to be playing in plenty of fourth quarters. It's just kind of the way things have went recently."
Wallace grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds in just 23 minutes against Phoenix. But he missed 5 of his 6 shot attempts and was part of a Bulls' epidemic of missed layups.
Skiles wouldn't give an exact count on the number of close-range shots missed by the Bulls on Thursday, but he agreed that 15 is in the ballpark.
"It's not easy to get the ball to the front of the rim in the pro game against a team of any quality," Skiles said. "So when you do get it there, you have to finish those -- everybody does on our team -- at some sort of acceptable rate.
"So far, that and our transition game have kind of been the two reasons why our shooting percentage is what it is. We haven't made great decisions in transition yet and then we've got to finish some of those layups."
The Bulls showed some encouraging signs on offense against the Suns, shooting 47.5 percent from the field in the second half. Overall this season, the Bulls have the league's lowest field-goal percentage at .388.
Tonight's tipoff
Bulls vs. Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center
When: 9:30 p.m.
TV: Channel 9
Radio: WMVP 1000-AM
Update: The Clippers, 5-2 heading into Friday's game at Golden State, have beaten teams with bad records, including the Bulls 97-91 on Nov. 6 in Chicago. Shooting guard Cuttino Mobley is shooting a blistering 59.3 percent from the field this season, including his 13-for-17 effort against the Bulls for 33 points. Center Chris Kaman is third in the league in rebounds at 14.3 per game.
Fast facts: The trends don't look good. The Bulls are 2-13 against the Clippers since the 2000-01 season and fell to 5-48 on their circus road trips since 1999 after losing in Phoenix.
Next: Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center, 8:30 p.m. Sunday
-- Mike McGraw