More Bulls all-stars? Thibodeau thinks there should be
Coach Tom Thibodeau continued to push the idea of multiple Bulls in the all-star game when he spoke Monday at the Berto Center.
Derrick Rose already has been voted a starter. Considering the Bulls were tied with Miami for the league’s third-best record Monday morning, an all-star reserve seems to be a reasonable request.
Thibodeau began promoting Luol Deng for a spot last week.
“I think when you look at what the team has done, you have to look at what Luol has done,” Thibodeau said. “The biggest thing is you can count on him every night. You know what you’re going to get.
“I think Carlos (Boozer) deserves consideration also. I think being out early may have hurt him some. Joakim (Noah) got off to a great start and, of course, his injuries hurt his chances, too.
“We wouldn’t be in this position without those two (Rose and Deng) and Carlos has been fantastic since he’s been back.”
All-star reserves are chosen by a vote of the head coaches in each conference. Thibodeau mentioned that he will try to drum up support for Deng and Boozer, but he didn’t seem optimistic about changing anyone’s mind.
“Coaches, they’ll all call each other,” he said. “Everyone’s saying the same thing.”
It will be interesting to see how the East coaches handle the all-star quota. There is a good chance Boston will have four on the team (Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett), while Miami may place the entire power trio (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh).
New York could easily have two (Amare Stoudemire and Raymond Felton), but the Bulls will be stuck at one if Deng or Boozer don’t get voted in.
Snow place like home:
The Bulls already have moved up Tuesday’s practice in anticipation of leaving town before the projected snowstorm hits.
The team’s charter flight originally was scheduled to depart for Los Angeles at 3 p.m. Trainer Fred Tedeschi acts as the team’s traveling secretary.
“We’re concerned,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Fred is on top of it. If we have to leave a little bit earlier, we’ll leave a little bit earlier.”
Injured center Joakim Noah lobbied last week to go on this 11-day trip in part because he was sick of the cold weather. Missing the snowstorm is an added bonus.
“What a bummer,” Noah deadpanned.
Layups with a legend:
Joakim Noah took the court after Monday’s practice to work on some left-handed layups. His right hand remained in a cast, which was supposed to come off later in the day.
He was soon joined by Bulls legend Scottie Pippen, who played token defense against Noah while the television cameras all turned their attention from post-practice interviews to the scene on the court.
“It was great. I get to work on my moves with Scottie Pippen. That’s a pretty big privilege, right?” Noah said. “(He was) just sharing some of the info with the young guys.”