<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> DENVER -- Bulls coach Scott Skiles has said repeatedly the reasons for his team's prolonged shooting slump are mental.</p> But when asked before the Bulls faced the Nuggets on Tuesday why Tyrus Thomas' playing time had been reduced in the previous two games -- he played less than 22 minutes combined against the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers -- Skiles cited the second-year forward's effort.</p> 'We ask [Thomas] to sprint the floor,'' Skiles said. ''To my knowledge, in his career, he hasn't done it one time -- not one time. You guys, sit and watch the game tonight. If he gets in there, is he jogging or is he sprinting the floor?</p> ''I've got to not only look for, especially young guys, can someone help me win a game tonight and balance that against trying to get him to be a high, high-level player. He's not going to be if he doesn't do that one thing. If he did that, that's about all he has to do -- change ends like a train.</p> ''We have not been able to get him to do that.''</p> Because of his athleticism, Skiles believes Thomas would get numerous easy baskets if he focused on running hard and beating other big men down the court.</p> ''He's leaving an awful lot on the table by not doing that,'' Skiles said. ''With our guys, the way we kick it ahead and when we're open take the early jump shot, if you're running down the middle, there's rebounds, tip-ins, nobody's boxing you out.</p> ''He knows it. We show him on film. We go over and over and over it. It's just something we've got to get him to do somehow.''</p> Whether the message is getting through is the issue -- and judging by Thomas' reaction to the comments, it may not be.</p> ''It's as simple as that,'' he said. ''You got the answer from the man making the calls. I don't know what you want me to say.''</p> ''I'm not not playing him to penalize him for that,'' Skiles said. ''We played great in the Clipper game, and I didn't see any reason to disrupt the lineup. It's nothing punitive.''</p> Skiles' comments obviously didn't jump-start Thomas, who had no points or rebounds and two turnovers in 11 minutes against the Nuggets.</p> </div></p> LINK</p>
