Skiles Ready To Shake Things Up

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<div class="bi">Skiles Ready To Shake Things Up</div>
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<span style="font-style: italic">Nov 13</span> - ''We're not going to do anything crazy,'' Scott Skiles said. ''But is 1-5 the right time? [Is] 1-9? It's not even so much the record. It's the way that we've played. This is different than wanting to hold two guys accountable or anything like that. We have to find a way to get shocked out of our malaise. It's probably going to have to come initially from me and then see what happens.</p>

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''Everything is in play now.''</p>

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That includes activating guard Thomas Gardner, the last player to earn a roster spot, and finding floor time for veteran swingman Adrian Griffin, who suggested the team meeting and is considered by Skiles to be a calming presence on the court. -- <font color="#000000">Chicago Sun-Times</font></p>

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[*]After a 3-hour-10-minute practice, Adrian Griffin called for a players-only meeting that lasted close to an hour Monday afternoon at the Berto Center.

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Griffin hasn't played a second this season, but that didn't stop him from showing his veteran ways.</p>

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"We talked about being a team," center Ben Wallace said. "Instead of going out there and playing like a group of individuals, we need to play as a team." -- <font color="#000000">Chicago Tribune</font></p>

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[*]John Paxson supports whatever changes Skiles might make, even if feathers get ruffled.

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"This is a business where if you're too sensitive, you don't belong here anyway," Paxson said.</p>

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"It's investing in the team. If Scott and his staff think certain changes need to be made with personnel to get us on the right track, then I would say to those players, invest yourself in what we're trying to do and help us win." -- <font color="#000000">Chicago Tribune</font></p>

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[*]It's troubling enough that the Bulls can't win, can't score, can't play defense, can't play together and can't tie their sneakers without hearing a Kobe Bryant reference. But now, even their well-spoken general manager is having problems articulating. I hope John Paxson doesn't really mean what he seemed to suggest Monday, that the only fans who are dissatisified and chanting ``Kobe! Kobe!'' are those in the more affordable upper reaches of the United Center.

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Because that is an insult to the entire fan base, a socioeconomic commentary as snobbish as it is inaccurate. -- <font color="#000000">Chicago Sun-Times</font></p>

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[*]"I'm certainly not going to lean on the 'we're still young' thing," Paxson said. "People don't want to hear that. I can't in one breath say, 'Hey, this group won 49 games last year' and then say, 'Hey, we're young.' People see through that stuff. I'm not about to go there."

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Paxson has as million theories on why the Bulls have played so poorly, but he isn't sure if any are correct. The most blatant distraction early this season was failed contract negotiations with Ben Gordon and Luol Deng. Those two players chose to turn down the Bulls' offers and are hoping to command higher salaries next summer. -- <font color="#000000">Arlington Heights Daily Herald</font></p>

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[*]What's going on with Wallace is really a secondary story. Wallace is primarily a defensive player, and Chicago's biggest failing has been at the other end. Through six games, the Bulls were last in the NBA in Offensive Efficiency, my measure of a team's points scored per 100 possessions. Without a great improvement in that number, it will be hard for them to contend regardless of what Wallace does at the other end.

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This has been the confounding part, because Chicago's trio of young perimeter stars has been the major problem. Kirk Hinrich is shooting 31.3% and averaging only 9.3 points per game; worse yet, he kept the same barber. Shooting ace Ben Gordon has been nearly as bad at 35.4%, including 31.4% on 3-pointers. And Luol Deng, who emerged as the team's best player a year ago, has only managed modest averages of 14 points and 44.4% shooting. -- <font color="#000000">New York Sun</font></p></div>
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