B.J. Armstrong said he was a little taken aback by being selected as a starter on the Eastern Conference All-Star team.
“It all happened so quickly,” he said. “I guess right now it’s one of those things you can’t really believe. I guess it will take some time for it to sink in.
“I’m just very happy, but I’m also very happy for my teammates because without them, none of this would be possible and without the coaching staff as well, because they all helped me get to this point. I just feel more happy for them right now than I do for myself.”
Scottie Pippen, who moved from third place to first and a starting position with the final balloting, said he was glad to have the company.
“The most special part about (being selected) is having a teammate alongside of me,” he said. “I think he’s been having an all-star season, and I think he’s very well-deserving of it.
“This is something I can enjoy and cherish that a lot of people had doubted this team, and now we have been able to get two all-stars and hopefully three, looking at who deserves to be there. I think Horace has a great opportunity of being on the team as well.”
Injury update: Stacey King is eligible to come off the injured list (sprained right ankle) for Friday night’s game against Milwaukee, but Phil Jackson said there won’t be any roster moves until next week.
He said Scott Williams will travel with the team on its West Coast trip, which begins Tuesday in Denver, and a determination as to his playing status will be made then.
Williams, who sustained a slight setback with a sprained quad muscle in his right thigh (his original injury is a damaged tendon in his left knee) had said he planned to be ready to play Tuesday, but the Bulls face a dilemma with two players above the 12-man limit.
Also missing the trip Thursday night were Toni Kukoc, home with the flu, and John Paxson, still recovering from a strained hamstring.
Good beat: Steve Kerr said he and Armstrong may try bringing music into the gym to simulate the actual three-point contest, but that’s about as close as they’ll come: “If I could actually get five racks of balls on the court, I would probably try it a couple times. But we don’t. We only have one.”
