Nocioni lighter, healthy and rested
After spending most of the summer recovering from an extended case of plantar fasciitis in his right foot, Bulls forward Andres Nocioni arrived in camp lighter than usual.
There's not a huge difference. As of Friday, Nocioni said he weighed in at 228 pounds, 7 lighter than usual. Coach Scott Skiles hasn't noticed much change in Nocioni's style of play during the first week of practice.
"Not really, because he doesn't really play a light game, if that makes any sense," Skiles said. "He's such a physical guy."
Whether or not it's a good idea for Nocioni to play at a lighter weight is open to debate. Dropping a few pounds isn't going to help him keep up with LeBron James. But the 6-foot-7 Nocioni is often at his best when he's bumping and battling bigger opponents.
"I think right now I feel much better with this weight," Nocioni said. "I can move a little bit faster than last year, and it's much better for my foot."
The Argentina native has been a fixture on his country's national team. He couldn't play at all this summer because of the foot injury, and Skiles believes Nocioni has come to training camp a little fresher and faster than in previous years.
"He's moving around well, he's playing well," Skiles said. "Hopefully as time goes on, we'll think it meant something that he came in a little lighter. But right now he's about the same."
The peaceful summers probably won't continue. Playing without Nocioni, Manu Ginobili, Fabricio Oberto and Walter Herrmann, Argentina still finished second to the U.S. at the FIBA Tournament of the Americas in Las Vegas and earned a berth in next year's Beijing Olympics.
"Everybody was talking about there was nobody on the team, so I feel really, really good for the second team in Argentina," Nocioni said. "They played really well with a mentality like the first team."
No post favorite: Asked if forward Luol Deng is the Bulls' best post-up scoring option, Scott Skiles refused to hand over the title.
"Tyrus (Thomas) is improving down there," Skiles said. "Joakim (Noah) has got kind of a clever post game. Thabo (Sefolosha) has a pretty good post-up game. I'd like to take a good look at everybody."
Rookie center Aaron Gray is not in the mix right now for playing time, but the 7-footer from Pittsburgh has shown potential as a post scorer.
"He's got soft hands," Skiles said. :He's got a soft touch. He's got a nice little hook. It's going to be hard for him to get minutes initially, probably, just because he's young and he's learning. I'm anxious to see him play in some exhibition games and see how he does against other NBA players."
New name in Jersey: The Bulls' season-opening game against New Jersey on Oct. 31 will be played at the Izod Center. Continental Airlines terminated its naming-rights deal for the East Rutherford, N.J., Arena in May after 11 years.
According to the Bergen Record, Izod beat out two other clothing companies -- Jay-Z's Rocawear and New Jersey-based Southpole -- to win the naming rights. No word on whether the Nets' mascot will be changed to an alligator.
Bull horns: Individual game tickets go on sale today at 10 a.m. at the United Center box office, TicketMaster outlets, online at bulls.com, or by calling 1-800-4NBA-TIX. ... Joe Smith (right knee) skipped practice for the second day in a row. ... Adrian Griffin (sore back) is expected to join practice next week. ... Friday was the final day of double sessions for the Bulls.