Dec. 20--There are times during the season when the Bulls plan to have center Pau Gasol sit out a game to rest his 35-year-old body, and they determined that Saturday night against the Knicks was a good time for some down time.
"We were contemplating this as a game that he might take off, and then after the way (Friday night) ended up going we just felt it was the right thing to do," coach Fred Hoiberg said of the 147-144 quadruple-overtime loss to the Pistons.
"He has ... (had) some increased soreness lately, so we decided to leave Pau at home. A couple of people stayed back with him to get him ready for (the Nets on) Monday."
Gasol saw 48 minutes of action Friday and afterward said he "would love to play (Saturday); I love to be with my teammates," but instead it was determined sitting out would be better for him. It marked the first time this season Gasol wasn't in the lineup and Joakim Noah started in his place and scored a team-high 21 points with 10 rebounds in the Bulls' 107-91 loss to the Knicks. "We were actually talking about doing some things earlier with Pau, but he has felt good (and) he has been playing really well," Hoiberg said. "We'll be cautious with it. He's a Hall-of-Famer and we want him playing his best when it matters most at the end of the season."
Portis time: With Gasol in Chicago and many of the Bulls playing with weary legs after Friday's marathon, Hoiberg planned to give rookie Bobby Portis significant playing time. The team's top selection (22nd overall) in the 2015 draft had played in only four games entering Saturday, all at the end of blowouts.
Against the Knicks, Portis entered the game to start the second quarter and finished with 20 points and a team-best 11 rebounds in 22 minutes, 46 seconds of play.
"I told him (Friday) night when he got on the plane to be ready ... and (Portis) said, 'I got you, Coach, I got you,'" Hoiberg said. "The kid is hungry. You see how much time and effort he puts into his game after practice ... or (by) staying in the weight room. This is what he lives for."
Portis said he has been waiting for his opportunity and it didn't matter that he knew going into the game he could play a significant role.
"I play hard all the time -- practice, one-on-one, two-on-two or anything," Portis said. "My practices are my games and games should be easier than practices any time."
