Bulls' Gafford suddenly a center of attention
Bulls center Daniel Gafford isn't exactly an overnight sensation, but he went from no career points to scoring a team-high 21 in Monday's loss to Milwaukee.
"I put (my phone) on 'do not disturb' because I was trying to get sleep," Gafford said Tuesday at the Advocate Center. "I was real sore from the game because I've been traveling a lot. I wanted to make sure I got the rest I needed for practice today."
Gafford was on a back-to-back schedule because he played for the Windy City Bulls on Sunday on the road in Long Island. The second-round pick from Arkansas has played in three G-League games, which might have helped his transition to joining the NBA rotation. Coach Jim Boylen has touted a partnership where Windy City coach Damian Cotter uses the same offensive and defensive schemes as the NBA Bulls.
"It helped a lot," Gafford said. "They basically have the same concept down in G-League. They have the same defensive aspects - be up at the level on ball screens, defensive rebound, protect the basket."
Gafford figures to stay in the rotation. He brings the sort of above-the-rim athleticism the Bulls have been lacking.
"The beauty of Daniel Gafford is he knows who he is," Boylen said. "And he knows how to keep his game in a box and do the things that he's good at, which is defending, rolling, rebounding, vertical spacing, competing, effort plays, physicality. There's a beauty in this world to know who you are and he knows who he is. And he embraces that role for us."
White getting attention:
Coby White hit his last two shots of the third quarter, giving the Bulls some momentum against Milwaukee
But then White, already a notorious streak shooter, didn't get another shot off until the 6:49 mark of the fourth quarter, when he knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers giving the Bulls a short-lived 99-98 lead. He spent part of that time getting a rest on the bench.
"(Bucks coach Mike) Budenholzer's yelling from the bench to get into him," coach Jim Boylen said. "He's yelling on every out of bounds play, every side out of bounds. 'Get into him. Crawl into him.'
"Yeah, the guy's a focal point of people's preparation now. I'm proud of him. He's excelled the way he has with the focus that's been on him. We run stuff for him all the time. We ran three ATOs (after time out plays) for him, we ran three SOBs (sideline out of bounds) for him, I think we're doing what we need to do to keep him going.
"But remember, defense dictates the shots; the defense dictates what shots we get and how we get them. Our job is to make decisions in those moments. That's where we've got to grow."
No Porter progress:
Jim Boylen's update on Otto Porter's left foot sprain was still an unknown return to the court.
"I don't know if it's concerning. It's frustrating for him and it's frustrating for us," Boylen said. "He's a big part of what we do. His symptoms have not subsided in the timely manner they thought for this injury they would. That's just where it's at."