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Quotes From The Q: Lineup Changes Not Enough In Loss To Bulls

HEAD COACH BYRON SCOTT

(On the game tonight): "Losing sucks. I thought Andy was fantastic. Antawn, some other changes that we made, Anthony Parker, Boobie, Mo, those guys were great. As far as the energy and the effort that we've been talking about, that's what I expect. We didn't get the outcome that we were looking for, but again that's something to build on because I thought the guys played hard for the first time in a while, for 48 solid minutes. They made some mistakes obviously at the end that hurt us and probably didn't give us a chance to win the game, but if we play hard like that every night, I can live with that."

(On the 4th quarter): "They were taking it to the basket, and we were settling for jump shots. I think most of our guys were looking for that knockout punch, and we just didn't get it. We missed some good shots that we had. I wouldn't really change a thing. The only thing I would probably say is that after the second miss, let's be a little bit more aggressive trying to get to the basket. Other than that, like I said, I can't ask for a whole lot more. I thought our guys competed their butts off tonight."


(On the fans): "The fans were fantastic, especially in that snowstorm that we had out there. Our players were late getting here, and that didn't excuse them, they're all still getting fined. The fans were fantastic to be able to show up like they did tonight."

(On the lineups): "I wanted to change it up, all the way around - the starting team, guys coming off the bench."

(On Manny Harris): "I thought Manny played extremely well. He gave us exactly what we wanted. He was real good on the defensive end and getting after people. He took the shots when he had them, and he didn't really force anything. The one play that I talked to him about was when we probably had a chance to bring it back out and run the clock all the way down and get the last shot, and he went to the basket, and I think he got blocked, and they ended up getting the ball. Then they got fouled which gave them two more points."

(On Derrick Rose): "He's a blur. Sometimes he lulls you to sleep, and then he goes right by you. He can go either way pretty effectively. He's a big-time point guard."

(On Antawn Jamison's minutes): "I think he can play to 30-35 minutes a game right now. Obviously I can't kill him in practice, which I wouldn't do anyway. I think he can play those type of minutes."

(On the players): "If these guys can continue to play the way they played tonight, I'm going to roll with it. I thought they competed. That's all I ask: compete every single night, play as hard as you can. I thought that first unit did just that. I'm going to stick with everything I pretty much did tonight for a little while."

DANIEL GIBSON

(On if their good effort tonight was something positive they can take away): "We want to win games first and foremost. When you're going through something like we are right now, you have to take the right steps in order to get it back on the right track. Tonight, we did that. We played the game the right way. We want to win, that's why you play the game."

(On if they made any chances defensively that resulted in their improved interior defense tonight): "Nothing different. I think it was just a matter of guys willing themselves to get down and stop those guys from scoring. It was just something I think guys took personally tonight that we didn't want to let happen."

(On if he was surprised that he was inserted into the starting lineup tonight): "Yes. I wasn't surprised to the point that I wasn't ready to play, but I didn't expect for us to change the lineup. We did and I think all of the guys responded well. I just wish we could have finished it the right way."


ANTAWN JAMISON

(On if he was reenergized by being inserted into the starting lineup): "It was good to get the opportunity to play a little bit. The most important thing was to just try to get a win in that column. We were able to do some things pretty good on both ends of the floor. We still kind of started off sluggish and slow in the first quarter, but we fought through that and got stops when we needed to. In crunch time, we weren't able to finish the game."

(On the lineup changes): "I just think as a collective group, we are just trying to win games. It's tough right now, everything is tough when you have been losing. For us, our character is going to really come out as far as what type of character we have as individuals and as a team...We have just got to fight it, continue to be positive and go out there and play the way we know we are capable of playing."


BULLS HEAD COACH TOM THIBODEAU

(On tonight's game): "We'll take any win we can get. We didn't play our best. They played very well. In the end, we did some things to put ourselves in position to win."

(On being prepared for the game): "I thought at the start of the game, we started off fine. I thought, to their credit, they kept playing. They changed their lineup. It was more a pick-and-roll game. They spread us out pretty good...I didn't like us offensively. I thought we played a low-energy game. We didn't get into transition. We didn't get any easy scores, and when we did get opportunities, we didn't convert."

(On Derrick Rose at the end of the game): "I thought it was really good execution. That being said, I also thought the group at the start of the fourth quarter fought back and got us back in position. C.J. (Watson), Ronnie (Brewer), Kyle (Korver), Luol (Deng) and Taj (Gibson) did a really good job. We were flat. They got some energy into the game. They got some stops and they got some scores."

(On Ronnie Brewer): "He was active. I thought he was covering a lot of area. Three of his turnovers came on the break. Some of it was his fault, some of it was the team's fault in terms of our spacing. That's something that we have to clean up."

(On not going back to Boozer in the fourth quarter): "The way that we were spread out, I like Luol at the four. I thought it gave us another perimeter guy and it also allows us to do some more switching. That was the main reason for that."


JOAKIM NOAH

(On pulling out the victory): "It feels good to win, but we are playing with fire. I think it was definitely a low-energy game and we definitely didn't play our best basketball. They played a hell of a game but we have to play with better effort."

(On if the Bulls let down): "There are no excuses. This is all part of it. You can make excuses all you want: nagging injuries, four games in five nights, snow, the environment, problems at home. You can find an excuse almost every night. That's what makes the NBA difficult. That's why winning is difficult in this league. It's the ones that try to take away the distractions and really focus on what needs to be done to win (that win). That's what good teams do."

(On the team's performance): "There's no denying it. We didn't play our best basketball tonight. Against the elite teams in the NBA, it's not going to get it done. We are very happy we won on the road. It's a tough thing to do in this league. They are tough. They have a lot of matchup problems for us. We are just happy Derrick put the team on this back again and made some huge plays for us down the stretch."


CARLOS BOOZER

(On being back with the team): "When you are out for so long and you miss training camp and the first 15 games you're going to be behind a little bit. But everyday I get a little bit better, a little more comfortable on offense, a little more comfortable on defense."

(Biggest challenge returning from injury): "Just playing. Just getting used to the guys, the guys getting used to me. We have a new coach, a new system, so I am getting used to the new system, but I think we are doing a good job of working hard to get acclimated."

(On learning by watching): "From the bench, you get a chance to see what works, what doesn't work. For me, the 15 games I missed I was able to learn a lot about my team. They got a lot of fight, a lot of guys who can play, guys that have a lot of heart out there. I realized how good D Rose was. Being on the West Coast, I didn't see him a lot. He's special. Like tonight, we had a tough night scoring the ball, but when we needed baskets he got us baskets or free throws or whatever we needed to get over the hump. I learned how good Joakim Noah is. He's more talented than I knew. I thought he was a rebounder and defender, but he has a nice left hand, a nice right hand and he plays with a lot of high energy. I learned a lot about my teammates."

(On not playing the fourth quarter): "I got in foul trouble early, which took me out of the flow. I was more of a facilitator, trying to help my teammates in any way I can. They did a good job on me. I tried to get the ball to other people. Some nights are going to be like that. That's why we play a team sport. Other guys pick you up when you are not having a good night."