The NBA coaching fraternity is not as tightly bound as is often perceived.
There are some coaches who won’t speak to one another and there are probably some who wouldn’t even hold the elevator door open if the wrong man were approaching.
New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas and his coaching “colleague” George Karl of the Denver Nuggets underscored that point Saturday night after their teams engaged in an ugly brawl that resulted in suspensions and fines.
Karl later called Thomas “a jerk” after Thomas had accused Karl of leaving his starters in late in a lopsided victory. Thomas and Karl, it turns out, have been feuding for a while.
Bulls coach Scott Skiles is not known to harbor any ill will toward Thomas. But he talked about the competitive nature within the NBA coaching fraternity Thursday before the Bulls traveled to New York for a Friday night contest at Madison Square Garden.
“You have 30 guys who do this job,” Skiles said. “Some you have known from before real well. Some you’ve played against.
“Naturally, there are some relationships that have formed. Sometimes they’re good; sometimes they’re bad.”
Although some coaches have been known to take out personal frustrations by instructing players to injure an opponent deliberately or to try to run up the score, Skiles says he is unaware of such tactics.
“I never played for anybody who did that and I don’t do that,” he said.
“So I am not even familiar with it, if that occurs. But it would be impossible for all of us to like each other.”
Skiles is more concerned about his team maintaining its hot streak, having won 12 of its last 13, including the last five.
The Bulls have beaten the Knicks twice this season, but New York has won its last two games in dramatic fashion, including David Lee’s tip-in at the buzzer to beat the Bobcats in double overtime Wednesday.
“[The Knicks] are getting better, and I thought they would,” Skiles said. “They have had a handful of tight games that they have been able to either hang in or win. I think that’s a mark of a team getting better.”
The Bulls have taken care of business at home this season, winning 11 of 13 at the United Center. They are 4-8 on the road.
“We have been a good road team the past couple of years. We just haven’t been good enough at home,” Skiles said. “So we try to make it a point of emphasis. We have a long way to go. Now we need to get our road record hovering around .500. Normally, that’s the formula. That’s how you become a 50-plus win team.”
The Bulls were 20-21 on the road last season.
“In the past two years, we have been so young and maybe [opponents] are not respecting us enough even though we have played well,” Skiles said. “We have been able to steal a lot of close games on the road. We kind of go into it with a nothing-to-lose, underdog attitude. Now this year it’s different.”
Veteran forward P.J. Brown, who is expected to be available Friday night after missing four games with a sprained right foot, knows the secret to being successful on the road.
“There are distractions on the road,” Brown said. “You have to always look at it as a business trip. You have to handle your business.”
The Knicks seem to have gained a spark since their brawl with the Nuggets.
“Most of the time the teams with a little controversy and turmoil seem to raise their level of play,” Brown said. “That is what is happening a little bit. They have won two very exciting, last-second games. That can boost your confidence a lot.”
The Bulls’ short-range goal is to take over the lead in the Central Division–they trail the Pistons by one game–before the end of the calendar year.
“We have an opportunity here to be 17-10 before Christmas, and, possibly, lead our division before Christmas should something happen to Detroit,” Skiles said. “So after losing all of those games early on, that would be a great start to our season.”
Feeling better, actually
Skiles returned to practice Thursday after missing Wednesday’s because of illness. He said it was the first practice he had missed in two years.
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fmitchell@tribune.com
