08:59 AM ET 02.07 | Tyrus Thomas didn't attend the Bulls' 95-91 victory over the Heat on Saturday night at the United Center after drawing a one-game suspension and undisclosed fine for conduct detrimental to the team. Team sources said Thomas directed a profanity-laced tirade at coach Vinny Del Negro in his office with players and coaches within earshot after Friday night's loss in Atlanta, the third straight game Thomas had played less than 16 minutes. One witness said it made Joakim Noah's vocal assault on then-assistant coach Ron Adams in 2008 look like "nothing.

The Bulls will say the steady play of rookie Taj Gibson is why Thomas is no longer the starting power forward after missing seven weeks with a fractured radius in his left forearm. And Gibson unquestionably has been a steal of the draft, a fundamentally sound, reliable player.

But part of successful coaching is managing personalities. When Thomas came off the bench to average 16 points, 10.3 rebounds and two blocks in 30.3 minutes in his first three games back from injury in late December, the time to start him and allow him to play through some mistakes arrived.

Instead, Thomas came off the bench to play just 15 foul-plagued minutes on Jan. 2 against Orlando. He has played more than 30 minutes just once since — on Jan. 20 at the Clippers — and tallied 18 points, six rebounds and three blocks while doing so.

Gibson may be a rookie, but he's 14 months older than Thomas. Rightly or wrongly, he has proved he's mentally strong enough to handle starting or coming off the bench. Just as rightly or wrongly, Thomas has proved you lose him if you don't start him.

Making the early-January decision to continue starting Gibson even more confounding is the fact his numbers as a reserve are better than when he starts and Thomas' statistics in his three starts are better than when he comes off the bench.

Don't misunderstand: Even before Thomas' latest cross-the-line actions, the window to start him had long since closed. You can't reward failing to execute the game plan and indifferent play by handing a starting job back to a player. And Thomas was guilty of both at times in a very forgettable January.

Then again, it's hard to play effectively when you're looking over your shoulder, knowing your next mistake will be your last for the night. And there simply was no excuse for not playing Thomas more against Philadelphia on Wednesday, when Elton Brand abused Gibson and Thomas tallied 12 points and six rebounds in just 15 minutes — but didn't play the final 15 minutes.

None of this is to excuse Thomas' profanity-laced postgame outburst at Del Negro, the seeds of which started during Friday's game and which several witnesses termed inexcusable.

Thomas' wild first quarter, which included two goaltending infractions, a turnover on a crosscourt pass and a running, left-handed hook, led to Del Negro benching him for the second quarter and words were exchanged on the bench.

You improve by actually trying to develop your skills, learning when and how you're screwing up and playing hard, not by trying to figure things out in the middle of the game. Noah has had basically the same number of minutes the last two years as Thomas, the difference is he's actually made some strides instead of doing the exact same things he did 3 years ago.

Noah is also 1.5 years older than Thomas and has probably played 2x as much basketball in his lifetime as Tyrus, when you include high school a nd College

I just think Tyrus is a player that has to play through his mistakes, start him, live with the good and the bad because he doesn't do us a lot of good coming in when he knows he's going to only play about 10 minutes. That's when he starts forcing shots and making bad decisions.

I just think Tyrus is a player that has to play through his mistakes, start him, live with the good and the bad because he doesn't do us a lot of good coming in when he knows he's going to only play about 10 minutes. That's when he starts forcing shots and making bad decisions.

That's how I know you're blind when it comes to Tyrus Thomas. No more needs to be said.

First and foremost, you never know coming into a game how many minutes you're gonna get. You may only play 8 minutes because of foul trouble in a game where you could have played 35. Coaches don't go into the game thinking about minute distribution. And even if they did, playing stupid because you aren't getting minutes isn't a way to show your coaches you deserve more. It's a mentality and personality issue when it comes to Thomas. The sooner he gets out of Chicago the better. If I never heard his name again, it'd be too soon.