Boylen doesn't think Bulls will invite Anthony to join team
Carmelo Anthony was officially listed as inactive for the Bulls on Wednesday against Atlanta. But he was nowhere to be found and shouldn't be walking through the door, unless it's with his new team.
Before the contest, Bulls coach Jim Boylen was asked the chances of Anthony playing a few games with the Bulls, or at least hanging around with the guys for a few days.
"From what I know and what I've been told, no," Boylen said. "Those are not my decisions. I'm going to coach the team we have the best that I can at this moment. If that changes for whatever reason or something changes, then I'll coach that team. I've heard nothing of that and that's where we are today."
The Bulls acquired Anthony from Houston on Tuesday in a minor deal designed to decrease the Rockets' luxury-tax bill. The plan was never for Anthony to play for the Bulls, but they may hang into to him until the Feb. 7 trade deadline just in case there's a deal to be made.
But Boylen is not planning to call the former all-star, who last played in an NBA game on Nov. 8, to try to convince him to suit up.
"We have not had those conversations," Boylen said. "From what I understand, that's not the direction we're going to go. I have not spoken to him. I do respect him, though, as an NBA player. He's had a terrific career."
Count the 3s:
The Bulls have averaged 24 attempts from 3-point range since Jim Boylen took over as head coach on Dec. 3. The total ranks last in the league.
Before Wednesday's game, Boylen talked about what he sees as the ideal numbers of 3s the Bulls should take. As a comparison, Houston leads the NBA with 44.4 attempts per game.
"I feel like, in my heart, 45 might be too many for this group, 25's not enough," Boylen said. "To give you an exact number, I don't have that number. I don't have a stat that correlates, if we take this many, what our chances of winning are, I haven't done that."
Boylen followed with the usual talk about taking open shots and driving when the defense tries to close out on a shooter.
"What we talk about is taking 3s in the rhythm of the offense, open 3s," he said. "We've had open shots we've passed up. We've had contested 3s we have taken. I go back to those decisions and recognizing when we're open, recognizing what shot to take."
Practice gets better:
Coach Jim Boylen was asked if the Bulls are showing any signs of improved toughness and he steered the answer to a slightly different topic.
"What I have seen are our practice habits are improving," he said. "That's important to me. That's a sign of toughness. That's a sign of mental toughness that practice is valued. We are practicing more like a good NBA team."