BOSTON _ Even with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah arriving with the Knicks on Friday, Fred Hoiberg won't play the what-might've-been game.
His focus is on the here and now, including Wednesday's 107-100 loss to the Celtics.
Hoiberg didn't even need Jimmy Butler's compliment from Tuesday's post-practice session with reporters _ Butler saying Hoiberg has changed for the better. Not that Hoiberg, whom Butler called out last season, minded it.
But the second-year coach hit the reset button as soon as the first season ended with the Bulls shockingly out of the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
"My focus last year was just to try to prepare our team to the best of my abilities," Hoiberg said. "We went through obviously a lot last year. I think it was 212 (games missed to) injuries.
"The big thing you do after a year like we had is a lot of soul-searching. You watch a lot of film. And you try to make the necessary improvements to put your team in better position to win and be in the playoffs."
Hoiberg wouldn't answer whether he felt this group fit his personality and coaching style better than last season's. But it certainly didn't hurt that when management hit its own reset button, it did so by adding strong veteran leaders in Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo. Ten of the 15 players Hoiberg is coaching are new.
"I'll talk about this group of guys; that's what I'm answering," Hoiberg said. "I really like our group. Our offseason meetings were productive. We talked a lot about what we had to do to correct some of the things that didn't go well for us a year ago."
Corrections have been on display despite the Bulls hitting a speed bump against a Celtics team playing without Al Horford because of a concussion, which lost Jae Crowder to a left ankle injury in the second quarter.
The extracurricular activity that defined these teams' meeting last week didn't reoccur, but that didn't stop a physical game in which Amir Johnson scored 16 of his 23 points in the third quarter. That included a career-high four 3-pointers for Johnson, who sank four in his first seven seasons combined.
Overall, the Celtics shot 14-for-32 from 3-point range. That and the Bulls' 19 turnovers ultimately stymied a furious comeback. Jimmy Butler scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth as the Bulls rallied from 16 down to tie.
But Nikola Mirotic missed two critical free throws with 1:36 left and a chance to take the lead for the Bulls, who were without Michael Carter-Williams and Doug McDermott. Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Smart scored on driving layups to put the game away.
Hoiberg surprisingly rode Bobby Portis over Taj Gibson in the fourth. Hoiberg said he liked the positive energy Portis brought and wanted to reward the lineup that brought them back.
"I think you're always evolving, even the guys who have been around the league a long time," Hoiberg said of his coaching. "They're always watching film and looking to make improvements with our team. That was obviously a huge emphasis for us in the offseason.
"Obviously chemistry is very important in this league. You have to have open lines of communications with your players. It's something I've always tried to do, going back to when I started in this business in college. The player-player relationship is also obviously very important, and I think we're better if I had to say in both those areas this year."
