National Basketball Association

Relax? There's work to be done; Ref tries to lighten mood, but Thibodeau intensity on display

Published Oct. 8, 2010 10:41 a.m. ET

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Preseason or not, the intensity of new Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau on the sidelines was apparent from the start of the game against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night at American Airlines Center.

Referee Monty McCutchen, obviously still in preseason mode, decided to have a little fun after Thibodeau -- a longtime NBA assistant in his first head-coaching job -- protested a foul call against Taj Gibson on the Mavericks' first offensive possession.

''At least say hello first as a head coach before you start yelling,'' McCutchen said with a smile. ''Congratulations ... now you can start yelling.''

Thibodeau's intensity is understandable. He had a lot of work to do before power forward Carlos Boozer suffered a broken right hand, and that workload is even heavier now.

In an 88-83 loss against Dallas that dropped them to 0-2, the Bulls made far too many mistakes for Thibodeau's liking -- even in a preseason game.

''Rebounding continues to be an issue,'' Thibodeau said. ''Our smalls aren't helping out and that's why we're getting beat to the ball. All five guys have to rebound and we have guys leaking out.

''We played well on defense at times, but we didn't finish the defense. We're nowhere near being a 48-minute team.''

On the positive side, the Bulls' first unit did a better job on the offensive end. With center Joakim Noah (13 points, eight rebounds, six assists) handling the ball in the paint quite a bit, the Bulls were able to play the inside-out style Thibodeau wants.

Derrick Rose also had a good scoring game with a team-high 17 points on 7-for-15 shooting.

The Bulls jumped on top quickly, leading by as much as nine points before taking a 23-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.

But the Bulls' second unit struggled on the offensive end. The main problem has been the play at point guard when Rose is on the bench.

Backup guard C.J. Watson, who struggled Tuesday in Milwaukee, didn't play because of a sore thigh. Whether he is able to go tonight in the Bulls' first home game at the United Center -- against former Bull Kirk Hinrich and the Washington Wizards -- will be determined shortly before tip-off.

John Lucas was the backup Thursday and was 0-for-6 in the first half before finishing with four points (2-for-10 in 17 minutes).

''We were inside out and the ball was moving quickly,'' Thibodeau said. ''I also thought we played at a good pace.''

While in Dallas, general manager Gar Forman met with free agent Erick Dampier Wednesday night, but a team source said the Bulls aren't interested in signing the veteran center at this point.

With Boozer out for at least the first month of the season, the Bulls would love to add a low-post scorer. But the 35-year-old Dampier hasn't averaged more than 7.1 points in any of the last five seasons.

The Bulls have roughly $2 million in salary-cap room remaining, but will wait to see if a better option emerges.

MAVS 88, Bulls 83

BULLS 23 21 19 20 -- 83

Dallas 18 27 21 22 -- 88

BULLS (83) --Deng 3-9 0-0 8, Gibson 3-6 0-0 6, Noah 4-7 5-8 13, Rose 7-15 3-4 17, Bogans 3-3 1-1 10, Korver 3-8 3-3 10, Thomas 2-3 0-0 4, Scalabrine 0-3 0-0 0, Johnson 3-7 0-0 6, Lucas 2-10 0-0 4, Asik 1-2 1-2 3, Weaver 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 32-75 13-18 83.

DALLAS (88)--Butler 6-13 9-10 22, Nowitzki 9-21 11-13 30, Haywood 1-1 1-1 3, Kidd 0-2 2-2 2, Jones 3-8 0-0 6, Terry 4-9 4-5 13, Chandler 1-3 0-0 2, Marion 3-7 0-0 6, Barea 2-8 0-0 4, Cardinal 0-0 0-0 0, Stevenson 0-0 0-0 0, Mahinmi 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 29-75 27-31 88.

3-Point Goals-- BULLS 6-21 (Bogans 3-3, Deng 2-4, Korver 1-3, Weaver 0-1, Scalabrine 0-2, Rose 0-3, Lucas 0-5), Dallas 3-10 (Butler 1-1, Nowitzki 1-3, Terry 1-3, Kidd 0-1, Barea 0-2). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds-- BULLS 39 (Noah 8), Dallas 59 (Nowitzki 10). Assists-- BULLS 22 (Noah 6), Dallas 16 (Terry 4). Total Fouls-- BULLS 28, Dallas 20. Technicals--Dallas defensive three second 2. A--17,448 (19,200).

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