Story of trouble between Paxson, coach emerges
For one night, anyway, it felt like the NBA playoffs inside the United Center.
Now the question is whether the Bulls can bring the real thing back to town after taking care of business Tuesday, with a guard-dominated 101-93 victory over the Boston Celtics.
But while the victory might prove huge down the line, the big story of the night wasn't what happened on the court. It's what happened behind the scenes two weeks ago.
The glaring sideshow at the UC started like this:
About 90 minutes before tipoff, a story appeared on yahoo.com that Bulls vice president of basketball operations John Paxson got into a brief scuffle with coach Vinny Del Negro following a March 30 loss to Phoenix at the United Center.
Sources confirmed the gist of the story, that Paxson was angry about the number of minutes (27) Joakim Noah played that night and confronted Del Negro in the coaches' locker room.
There were differing accounts of how physical the confrontation became. A source confirmed Paxson was the aggressor. The former Bulls guard usually is calm and composed, but the feisty side of his personality still exists.
Management already was upset that Noah exceeded his time limit in a Feb. 26 overtime win against Portland. Starting the next day, Noah sat out 10 games to rest plantar fasciitis in his left foot.
The Bulls lost all 10.
The issue returned Friday in a crucial double-overtime loss at New Jersey, when Del Negro sat Noah for the final 48 seconds of the fourth quarter and most of the two overtimes. Del Negro said after the game he didn't want Noah to go beyond 35 minutes, while general manager Gar Forman told reporters Del Negro did have management's permission to play Noah longer.
After the win over Boston, Del Negro said he wouldn't discuss internal team business, but he did speak in general terms.
"Things happen. There's a lot of emotion involved in this game," Del Negro said. "There are a lot of things that happen on a daily basis. But as long as everyone's pulling in the same direction - then there's a lot of positive to take out of it, too."
Asked if the incident had any bearing on his playing-time decisions in the New Jersey game, Del Negro answered, "Not at all. No."
Inside the locker room, Noah became slightly agitated when asked if he knew of the confrontation between Paxson and Del Negro.
"I think that's none of your guys' business," Noah said. "I think we deserve not to have these problems talked about right now. I think we're fighting as players, we're giving everything we've got, and that's the only thing that matters."
Derrick Rose did a double-take when he was asked about the scuffle involving his coach.
"What happened?" he asked. "I never heard about it. If it did happen, it slipped past me. I really don't watch that stuff. When they're around us, they're always kidding around, joking around, talking. When they're around us, it's professional."
Rose scored a career-high 39 points, while adding 7 assists, 3 blocks and hitting 15 of 22 shots from the field. Kirk Hinrich contributed 30 points, including 10 points in the final 3:13.
"You could tell before the game everyone was ready. The mind-set's real businesslike right now," Hinrich said. "We still have a shot. We have one game to see if we get in or not."
The Bulls (40-41) can clinch the No. 8 playoff seed and a first-round date with LeBron James by winning Wednesday night in Charlotte. If they lose, Toronto can knock the Bulls out of the postseason with a home win over New York.
Mike McGraw's game tracker Bulls 101, Celtics 93One to go: The most relevant storyline to this game was the Bulls moving within a victory of clinching a playoff spot. They'll be the No. 8 seed in the East with a win at Charlotte on Wednesday. If the Bulls lose to the Bobcats, Toronto can claim the spot by beating New York at home.Guards up: Derrick Rose poured in a career-high 39 points, thoroughly dominating the matchup with Boston's Rajon Rondo (4 points, 5 fouls). Kirk Hinrich came up big with 30 points, his highest-scoring game since Feb. 18, 2009.Counting time: If anyone is paying attention to Joakim Noah's minutes, he played 46 on Tuesday, piling up 16 rebounds, 9 points and 3 blocks.Bulls game dayBulls vs. Charlotte Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena, 7 p.m.TV: Comcast SportsNetRadio: WMVP 1000-AMUpdate: While the Bulls need a win to get into the playoffs, Charlotte's future is already secure. Qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in their six-year history, the Bobcats will be the No. 7 seed and face No. 2 Orlando in the first round. The Bulls are 2-1 against Michael Jordan's team, with the home side winning all three games. Charlotte is led by SG Stephen Jackson with 21.2 points, while all-star forward Gerald Wallace averages 18.3 points and 10.1 rebounds.Next: Regular season overFalse280512Chicago Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro talks with reporters after an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Tuesday.Associated PressFalse <div class="infoBox"><h1>More Coverage</h1><div class="infoBoxContent"><div class="infoArea"><h2>Stories</h2><ul class="links"><li><a href="http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/3818">McGraw's blog: Arguments will happen <span class="date">[04/13/10]</span></a></li><li><a href="/story/?id=372999">Imrem: Bulls just keep playing above it all<span class="date"> [4/13/10]</span></a></li><li><a href="/story/?id=373000">Hinrich has 77 points in last three games<span class="date"> [4/13/10]</span></a></li></ul></div></div></div>