At 5 minutes 22 seconds, Tyrus Thomas logged more minutes in the first quarter Friday night than he had in the previous two games.
Perhaps it's coincidence Thomas' early appearance came after a talk Thursday with coach Vinny Del Negro. Perhaps not. Especially since Thomas didn't play in the second half. This is certain: Thomas' seven minutes capped an eventful stretch in which Thomas played 5:06 last Saturday, not at all Tuesday against the Knicks and was sent to the locker room by Del Negro for making a sarcastic comment during a recent practice.
As recently as Wednesday, Del Negro denied Thomas had done anything specifically wrong when asked following his uncharacteristically strong rebuke of Thomas and Joakim Noah. But several Bulls confirmed the incident occurred, although most stressed it was of the kind that happens and goes unpublicized often and was smoothed over quickly by Del Negro.
"Stuff happens all the time with teams," Del Negro said. "Tyrus is fine. If there are opportunities out there where he can help us, no question he'll be out there. I thought he has been focused in practice and shootaround."
That focus has stretched to Thomas putting in extra work.
"Everything is good with Tyrus," he said. "Everything is good with everybody. We talk all the time. My door is always open. That's just the way I am. Tyrus has been putting his work in. Things get blown out of proportion."
Layup: Thabo Sefolosha played the final 97 seconds of the first half, his first action in five games.
Big number: 430-point games Grizzlies rookie guard O.J. Mayo has posted. The leading rookie scorer, Mayo has scored in double figures in all 22 games and is Derrick Rose's main competition for Rookie of the Year.
