Chicago Bulls coach Jim Boylen denies talk of player revolt
Tuesday 11 December 2018 08:21, UK
Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen has denied talk of a player revolt, and says the team is moving on after they held a two-hour team meeting.
The meeting followed the 133-77 thrashing by Boston Celtics during which Boylen made five substitutions and benched his starters because he said he wanted them fresh for Sunday practice.
Reports had claimed that players were on the verge of a revolt, but Boylen insists that only "a couple of guys" didn't want to practice after a long week that included a game or a practice for seven consecutive days.
"The truth is we had a couple guys that thought a Sunday practice was excessive after the week we had," he said.
"And they have to trust me that if I bring them in here to practice, I'm going to manage their legs and manage what we're going to do."
"Everybody is allowed to make a mistake. Everybody is allowed to get sideways a little bit. This is an emotional roller coaster at this level.
"So, new coach, tough week, big win (over Oklahoma City Thunder), we got our butt kicked. Everybody is human.
"Everybody has a reason to do what they do, and a lot of times we've all done it where we look back and say, 'God, I wish I would've done that differently. We could've handled that differently.'"
The team is 1-2 under Boylen, who replaced Fred Hoiberg as Chicago head coach last week.
Hoiberg was considered to be a players' coach, while Boylen has not disguised his plans to be a more confrontational and intense taskmaster on the sideline.
"[Sunday] was a blessing for where we have to go," Boylen told reporters.
"What was best was coming in, being together and growing. Some guys felt that was excessive. We cleared that up, and we're moving on."
The Bulls lost 108-89 to Sacramento Kings on Monday night.
