QUOTE
Now and again, the gymnasium turned silent. The sounds of bouncing basketballs and stampeding feet of Bulls players running wind sprints became muted, which is usually a signal that practice is ending.
On Wednesday at the Berto Center, the silence was temporary, really just a tease, in a three-hour marathon practice.
This was payback from Bulls coach Scott Skiles for his players' fourth-quarter collapse in a home loss to Orlando on Tuesday, when they squandered a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter and made only 3 of 8 free throws.
With the NBA season winding down, many teams aren't even bothering with practices, but the Bulls are still in the playoff hunt and Skiles doesn't want to see them self-destruct again.
"We're not trying to damage anyone," he said. "That loss isn't a loss we can take lightly, though. It's a game we had under control like we have so many, and we let it slip away."
In a span of seven days, the Bulls were at their best late in victories over Boston and Charlotte, and at their worst late in losses against the Magic and at Indiana. Their problems in the course of a week were emblematic of their unpredictability all season.
If they had put up a fight in the fourth quarter against the Magic, Skiles likely would not have had practice Wednesday. The Bulls have not had a day off since March 20. The last time they went this long without rest was in the preseason.
At this point in a long season, it's debatable whether a practice will accomplish much. Perhaps tired legs could use a rest, or maybe these young players don't require the respite veteran players need.
"Young or old, after what happened [Tuesday] night we would have practiced, and we would have practiced hard," Skiles said. "We can't just let that pass. The Boston game, if we hadn't won that game at the very end … you could walk out of there feeling pretty good because we really laid it out there.
"[Tuesday] night in situations where we looked a little bit frozen, we can't just let that go. We have to get in and work on it. The guys have to get through that."
If the players considered the practice a punishment, they weren't saying so.
"It's not for me to answer," Tyson Chandler said with ice packs on his lower back. "It's not for me to challenge. It was tough. Everybody's tired right now."
The Bulls, who shot 14.3 percent in the fourth quarter Tuesday against the Magic, spent most of their time working on fundamentals, Ben Gordon said.
"Finishing layups, finishing at the basket," he said. "That's a problem we have. We missed easy plays. We just have to be more focused."
Gordon said the staff hinted after Tuesday's loss that the practice would be tough. "I thought it was going to be a lot worse," he said.
mxgarcia@tribune.com
On Wednesday at the Berto Center, the silence was temporary, really just a tease, in a three-hour marathon practice.
This was payback from Bulls coach Scott Skiles for his players' fourth-quarter collapse in a home loss to Orlando on Tuesday, when they squandered a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter and made only 3 of 8 free throws.
With the NBA season winding down, many teams aren't even bothering with practices, but the Bulls are still in the playoff hunt and Skiles doesn't want to see them self-destruct again.
"We're not trying to damage anyone," he said. "That loss isn't a loss we can take lightly, though. It's a game we had under control like we have so many, and we let it slip away."
In a span of seven days, the Bulls were at their best late in victories over Boston and Charlotte, and at their worst late in losses against the Magic and at Indiana. Their problems in the course of a week were emblematic of their unpredictability all season.
If they had put up a fight in the fourth quarter against the Magic, Skiles likely would not have had practice Wednesday. The Bulls have not had a day off since March 20. The last time they went this long without rest was in the preseason.
At this point in a long season, it's debatable whether a practice will accomplish much. Perhaps tired legs could use a rest, or maybe these young players don't require the respite veteran players need.
"Young or old, after what happened [Tuesday] night we would have practiced, and we would have practiced hard," Skiles said. "We can't just let that pass. The Boston game, if we hadn't won that game at the very end … you could walk out of there feeling pretty good because we really laid it out there.
"[Tuesday] night in situations where we looked a little bit frozen, we can't just let that go. We have to get in and work on it. The guys have to get through that."
If the players considered the practice a punishment, they weren't saying so.
"It's not for me to answer," Tyson Chandler said with ice packs on his lower back. "It's not for me to challenge. It was tough. Everybody's tired right now."
The Bulls, who shot 14.3 percent in the fourth quarter Tuesday against the Magic, spent most of their time working on fundamentals, Ben Gordon said.
"Finishing layups, finishing at the basket," he said. "That's a problem we have. We missed easy plays. We just have to be more focused."
Gordon said the staff hinted after Tuesday's loss that the practice would be tough. "I thought it was going to be a lot worse," he said.
mxgarcia@tribune.com
