No two teams or seasons are alike, but the Bulls are trying to follow the path that Miami traveled last season.
The Heat became the fifth team in NBA history to post a winning record after falling 11 games under .500 at one point in the season.
Rocked by the emotional resignation of coach Pat Riley and injuries, last season’s Heat started 0-7 and 25-36 before finishing 42-40 and winning a playoff series under Stan Van Gundy.
The Heat coach was asked Saturday whether it’s tough to keep players buying into a system during so much losing.
“Scott [Skiles] would have to answer for his team, but last year wasn’t hard for me,” Van Gundy said. “We had a lot of high-character guys. And we had injuries. Our guys knew better days were ahead.
“It was a depressing time, mainly for me. I think they hung in pretty good. Watching Scott’s team, I’d have to say they did the same thing. Both of us had young teams. If you have that, it’s a little easier for guys to hang in there because they know they’ve got a chance to get better.”
Skiles has consistently said this season’s team has maintained its focus and composure, even with an 0-9 start.
Smiles for Skiles
Media members vote for NBA coach of the year, but Van Gundy did his stumping for Skiles this weekend.
On Friday, he told Miami reporters that the Bulls “play harder than any team in the league.” He upped the ante Saturday.
“What Scott’s done has been phenomenal,” Van Gundy said. “For them to turn it around to this degree, this quickly, has been incredible.”
Layups
Scottie Pippen sat courtside with Bulls executive vice president of business operations Steve Schanwald. Pippen owns a home near Miami and drew a nice round of applause when he was shown on the scoreboard during a timeout. . . . Eddy Curry offered this gem when asked if he needed to avoid early foul trouble against Shaquille O’Neal. “Unless you want to see Jared [Reiner] on `SportsCenter,'” he said.
