March 05--Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau lit up when Craig Sager's name was mentioned Thursday at shootaround.
The splashy, affable Turner Sports courtside reporter will return to action tonight following an 11-month recovery from leukemia. The Batavia native and Northwestern alum will wear a red-and-black suit -- Bulls colors.
"He's got good taste," Thibodeau said.
But Thibodeau could not smile when he considered who else will report to the United Center: Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, who put up his fourth consecutive triple-double Wednesday in Oklahoma City's 123-118 overtime victory over the 76ers.
Wearing a mask after suffering a fracture in his right cheek Friday, Westbrook went for 49 points and 16 -- both career highs -- and 10 assists against Philadelphia. He became the first player to record four consecutive triple-doubles since Michael Jordan's seven straight in 1989.
The only other players in NBA history with four straight: Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson and Maurice Stokes.
"There's nothing that he's not doing," Thibodeau said. "He's play-making, he's scoring, he's getting to the free throw line, he's rebounding the ball, and those are often the hardest breaks to stop, when a guy rebounds and he just goes. So his speed is something that's very difficult to deal with. And you never can guard those guys individually. It's gotta be your whole team, but there is a lot more than just Russell. This team is deep and talented.''
Indeed, the Thunder have won 9 of their last 11 even though Kevin Durant (foot) has missed seven straight games. And the losses were by four points at Phoenix and three points at Portland.
Tony Snell and Kirk Hinrich figure to draw the bulk of the one-on-one assignment.
"I don't know if you can necessarily confuse Russ, as good as he is and as long as he's played," Hinrich said. "He's on a different level right now so as a team we have to find a way to somewhat slow him down."
tgreenstein@tribpub.com
