Bulls coach Tim Floyd downplayed his decision to bench veterans Charles Oakley and Greg Anthony down the stretch of Saturday’s loss to the Knicks, saying a struggling offense needed some firepower.
But Anthony, who spent his first four seasons with the Knicks, appeared puzzled by the decision.
“This is all new to me,” Anthony said. “As a competitor you want to get out there and play and help. But I guess if you don’t shoot it extremely well, then that’s the call.”
Anthony went 1-for-5 with four points, four rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes. He didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter as Floyd went first with Kevin Ollie and then, over the final 6 minutes 11 seconds, with A.J. Guyton at his guard spot.
“Sometimes defending and rebounding is as important as offense,” Anthony said. “It’s frustrating because we were down six going into the fourth and I felt we could still win the game.
“But that’s Coach’s decision. He’s got to do what he thinks will give [us] the best chance to win. All you can do is respect it and root for the other guys.”
Oakley, who played two minutes in the fourth, failed to score on three shots in 29 minutes and had four rebounds and two turnovers. He’s shooting 29.7 percent.
“My shot isn’t clicking, so I’m trying to play defense and make things happen,” Oakley said.
Floyd’s lineup of Guyton, Ron Mercer, Brad Miller, Marcus Fizer and Trenton Hassell made things happen over the final 6:11, trimming an 11-point deficit to three despite Guyton missing all four of his shots.
“My number was called and I didn’t produce,” Guyton said.
Guyton hadn’t played since Nov. 8 against Minnesota.
“It was just feel,” Floyd said. “I’ve seen it many times where he can just come into the game and make shots. We were 2-for-9 from the point guard spot and down 11 at the time, and I thought he would come in and make some shots.”
Coach’s corner: Floyd and Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy huddled for 30 minutes before the game, a common occurrence when these teams meet.
“I like him a lot and always enjoy talking to him,” Van Gundy said. “He’s got a great perspective that makes me laugh, which is hard to do right now.”
Van Gundy said he didn’t have to offer Floyd any pointers on how to handle Oakley, whom Van Gundy coached in New York. “Charles may not say all the right things, but he has great respect for coaches,” Van Gundy said.
Center stage: Oakley played 10 seasons with the Knicks, who were one of the teams to check with general manager Jerry Krause about Oakley’s availability in the aftermath of the Bulls fining him $50,000 for critical comments.
“I don’t bail out,” Oakley said. “I’m not going to say, `Get me out of here because we’re bad.’ I’m with Chicago, so I feel an obligation to be with Chicago. I’m going to go down with the young guys.
“No coach can ever say that I was a disease to a team. I might say some things that they might not like. But prices on Wall Street go up and down and I don’t like that.”
