Hoiberg's toughness comes out in Bulls practice

Taj Gibson revealed an interesting change in the atmosphere at Chicago Bulls practice, along with the role of first-year coach Fred Hoiberg.

"I think lately the practices have been great," Gibson said Tuesday at the Advocate Center. "Fred did a great change of how he goes about it. He's been even tougher. He's been cursing guys out. It's been fun. I'm enjoying it."

That's interesting, first of all since Hoiberg always has been fairly mild-mannered, going back to his playing days with the Bulls. Also, Jimmy Butler raised some eyebrows in December by publicly asking Hoiberg to coach the team harder.

"It's kind of weird because (Hoiberg) really doesn't want to get after guys," Gibson said. "But lately he's been in guys' tails. It's been real fun. I appreciate it. That's the kind of things we need, especially this morning in practice. And shootaround as far as watching film, that's what we're going to need. I told him I appreciate it."

Hoiberg already had spoken to reporters by the time Gibson made his revelation. But Hoiberg did talk about wanting the Bulls to get tougher, especially when fighting for rebounds.

"It's got to come to a point where it bothers you," Hoiberg said. "That's the first thing when you get out-hustled and outworked and knocked out of bounds, that's where it starts.

"We did a drill today where you have to go hit, have to go make first contact. A lot of times we're reacting. We get hit in the back first. Now we're pushed underneath in the basket and you're in terrible rebounding position.

"It's physical. It's a man's game. If it doesn't bother you, it's going to continue to happen."

Portis delivers:

Rookie Bobby Portis showed off his range in Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Lakers, going 3-for-3 from 3-point land. Portis' 17 points were his second-highest scoring total of the season.

"We knew Bobby had a very versatile game," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "They backed off him and he rose up with confidence. … It's good to see Bobby playing without hesitation.

"And where he's really grown is on the defensive end. If you looked at the numbers and splits early in the season, it was a struggle for him. But he has continued to work, continued to get after it, watched a lot of film. And he's really progressed at that end.

"So we've been really proud of how he has gotten better as the season has gone on. It allows us to play him down the stretch a lot more."

Injury update:

Pau Gasol missed Tuesday's practice with an illness. Fred Hoiberg is hoping Gasol will be feeling better Wednesday and ready to play against Washington.

The update on Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic was more of the same - they need more time. Hoiberg said Mirotic (appendectomy) just started jogging, while Butler (left-knee strain) is still feeling pain when moving laterally.