Nov. 06--From the first day of training camp, Fred Hoiberg said he's not wedded to his lineup or rotations and that he would change if needed.
Thursday provided the first example.
Hoiberg replaced Tony Snell with Doug McDermott against the Thunder, a move he made after meeting with reporters. Hoiberg danced around the subject of lineup changes at both the morning shootaround and pregame when queried.
"You're always thinking about it," Hoiberg said.
Also asked if Jimmy Butler would guard both Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, Hoiberg cracked wise: "At the same time?"
Butler will indeed take turns guarding both dynamic players as the Bulls look to bounce back from Tuesday's desultory loss in Charlotte, where they allowed 130 points to the Hornets.
"They are excited to get back. I could tell from yesterday's practice," Hoiberg said. "They were very competitive and spirited. We were locked in very well this morning and hopefully that carries over. The true test of who you are is how you bounce back from an effort like we had the other night. I'm confident in our guys."
The Bulls again will be without Kirk Hinrich, who took an injection for his injured toe and must be idle for two more days. Hoiberg is hopeful a post-practice session with Derrick Rose will jumpstart the guard, who has scored in single digits in three straight games for the first time in his career.
"He said it's coming. And I agree with that. You can see he's getting his rhythm back," Hoiberg said. "You can tell he's starting to feel confident. Now it's a matter of getting it done out there. He's still a little blurry in one eye. It's hard enough to shoot with two eyes. It's just a matter of time in my opinion before he takes that lid off the basket. And then he's going to take off from there."
