Jan. 07--For the third straight day, Fred Hoiberg cited the team huddle and celebration after Jimmy Butler's franchise-record, 40-point second half Sunday in Toronto.
"That's big-time stuff," Hoiberg said. "That's what great teams do."
Perhaps more tellingly, Hoiberg framed the moment in perspective that comes from playing 10 years and serving as an executive for four in the NBA.
"We'll hit adversity again this year. There's no doubt about that," Hoiberg said. "It's how you handle that and you battle through it that determines who you can be. When things are going well, it's easy to pull for each other. When those tough times hit, that's the true sign of a good team when you can band together."
That the Bulls have gone 6-2 since Butler shared his opinion that Hoiberg needed to "coach harder" seemingly would bode well for whenever another rough patch develops.
We all have a lot of love for each other," Butler said. "Everybody wants to see everybody be successful. That's why we're winning. We're buying into any given night, it could be anybody who's scoring. You get the ball to them and they'll take us where we need to go. That's special."
Butler also took exception to a question about the team not appearing close or hanging out much together off the court.
"I don't think that has much to do with what's on that basketball court," Butler said. "When you're on that court, you have to be a family. Yeah, you have to spend time with your teammates off the court, but everybody has their (own) family. Guys are married; guys have kids. I don't think the off-the-court stuff matters."
Hoiberg said the team's ability to communicate throughout has proved beneficial.
"What people don't see are the meetings that you have behind closed doors or the team meetings you have in a film room," he said. "Sometimes you might have a five-minute meeting planned and you're in there for half an hour just talking things out. When you can do that and when guys don't take things personal, that's the growth. And then that in turn will carry over to the floor."
Shooting stars: Butler playfully avoided a question about whether he's the best shooting guard in the league.
"You're not going to draw me into that nonsense," he said. "I just want to be the best shooting guard I can be for this team. That's all I'm worried about."
Asked a follow-up on whether Klay Thompson is, Butler smiled.
"You're asking me?" he said. "Let me get back to you on that one."
Layups: Joakim Noah will miss his eighth straight game Thursday with his left shoulder injury. ... In Tuesday's victory over the Bucks, the Bulls were perfect (20-for-20) from the free-throw line with at least 20 attempts for the first time since Jan. 27, 1981.
