It's time for Bulls to get past minutes issue

All the talk about days off and minutes limits, the Bulls can give that a rest for a few weeks.

They are in the midst of an early all-star break, with four days off before the ice-show road trip resumes Wednesday in Houston. Then there's just five games left before the real all-star break, which is extended to a full week this year.

Don't worry, though, rest will continue to be an issue. I don't know if it's the biggest reason for discord inside the Advocate Center, but it's one of them.

At the heart of the argument, there's nothing sinister going on among the Bulls' brain trust, just a difference in basketball philosophy.

Look at it this way: The Bulls have built a talented and deep roster. Tom Thibodeau is one of the NBA's best coaches, but for three straight years they haven't been at full strength in the playoffs. It's certainly reasonable to think managing minutes and rest could enhance a postseason run.

There is plenty of evidence to support this view. Last week a slumping Jimmy Butler took a sick day against Golden State. In the next two games, he scored a combined 57 points, looking like his early-season self.

Since LeBron James took a two-week maintenance break, he and the Cavs have been playing lights out.

San Antonio popularized the practice of resting starters and came within a missed 3-pointer of winning consecutive championships. Now coach Mike Budenholzer has brought that philosophy to Atlanta, and the Hawks are dominating the East.

When asked about minutes played, Thibodeau often brings up the championship-era Bulls, and there's nothing wrong with that example. From 1995-98, Michael Jordan never missed a game, and he averaged 39 minutes during his final season with the Bulls.

There's a belief that mastering Thibodeau's intricate defensive strategies requires intense and sometimes long practices. He believes in his methods because they've been proven to work.

Keep in mind, Thibodeau is an indirect product of the Pat Riley coaching philosophy, since Riley taught Jeff Van Gundy and Thibodeau logged several years on Van Gundy's bench. Thibodeau often talks about how players have to fight through things.

There isn't necessarily a right or wrong answer here - rest doesn't guarantee good health - but it's easy to see what has been working. The Spurs and Hawks seem more relevant to today's NBA than Jordan 20 years ago.

The Bulls need to find ways to keep their guys fresh and relatively healthy. It might help to give Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose and others a day off once in awhile.

That's not spouting management's view; it's my own opinion based on 16 seasons of covering the NBA.

Of course, no one wants to win more than Thibodeau. His plan is not to run guys into the ground. Then again, most Bulls fans probably cringed at the sight of four starters on the floor late in the fourth quarter with a 20-point lead against San Antonio.

Maybe the Bulls management team of John Paxson and Gar Forman believe Thibodeau needs help with the bigger picture. That's fine, but the three protagonists ultimately are chasing the same goal.

More than anything else, the Bulls need to sort out their differences behind closed doors. The recent issues continued a bad trend. A national writer posts negative news about Thibodeau, leaked by a league source. Van Gundy answers by blasting Bulls management on national TV.

The problem is, tension between the coaching staff and front office is a Bulls tradition, going back to the Jerry Krause-Phil Jackson mega-feud.

Paxson is a smart executive, and Forman's track record in the NBA draft is impressive. But the fiery personality that propelled Paxson's basketball career can still get him into trouble. It's time to realize, Thibodeau is not Vinny Del Negro.

The Bulls need to make this relationship work, not push Thibodeau out the door.

During the championship era, Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf wintered in Arizona and would hear about the team's turmoil during his nightly phone call with Krause.

A few years ago, his son Michael came on board to oversee the Bulls' day-to-day operations. What is he doing to pull everyone together? Not enough, it would seem.

The inner turmoil may not torpedo this season. But anyone who thinks the players don't sense the tension is kidding themselves.

• Get the latest Bulls news via Twitter by following @McGrawDHBulls.