Joe Smith Comes off the Bench in Chicago’s Game Against the Wizards

The Chicago Bulls’ 12-year veteran Joe Smith made his pre-season debut on Tuesday night in the Bulls exhibition game against the Washington Wizards. Smith, who has been sidelined due to an injured and swollen right knee, played a successful thirteen minutes in Tuesday night’s game at the United Center. To the delight of coaches and fans, he finished the game with seven points, but the Bulls maintain that they will keep a close eye on him so as not to worsen his injury. The team is also keeping a close eye on injured players Ben Gordon, Thabo Sefolosha and Adrian Griffin, who all remained sidelined during Tuesday’s game. Smith, who is new to Chicago’s team this year, didn’t feel 100 percent before the game, but insisted on playing in order to get acclimated with his new teammates.

According to press notes Smith said, “It’s important to get to know my teammates, even after playing all these years. That’s why I’m kind of trying to rush my way back a little bit. Games and practices are totally different. I want to get as comfortable with the guys as I can. Playing in games before the season starts is important.” Skiles is still testing who he wants to start and how long he wants his starters playing, and of Smith’s position on the team he has said, “I think if he started for awhile then all of a sudden you wanted to make a change, I  don’t think that would bother him. And I think if he was comfortable in his role off the bench and all of a sudden you said, ‘Look, we’ve lost a couple in a row. We want to mix it up.’ He’d start and you’d probably see the same game out of him.” It seems that an easy-going attitude is what comes from years of experience on the court – and lucky for Smith, Skiles seems to admire his approach to the game.

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