Will Boozer become big-time scorer?

In the past two preseason games, Carlos Boozer has averaged 24 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists, while shooting 57 percent from the field.

While Derrick Rose was healthy, he was clearly the Bulls go-to scorer. With Rose recovering from ACL surgery, is it time to make Boozer the team’s main offensive threat?

“I think you always want three primary scorers,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “That’s always been the case. It’s been the case when Derrick was here. I think when you look at the game, it’s your ability to try to make it hard on your opponents’ three primary scorers.

“Then the responsibility of a primary scorer is when he’s one-on-one, you want him to score. When the second defender comes, he has the responsibility to hit the open man and make the right play. So there’s a lot of responsibility that goes with being a primary scorer.”

Deng finds sound advice:Luol Deng was asked Thursday how often he turns to Bulls legend Scottie Pippen for advice. The answer was quite often.It started with questions about 3-point shooting, an area where both players improved as they got older. As it turns out, Deng turned to another championship-era Bulls player earlier in the day.#147;I was actually talking to (Toni) Kukoc this morning and I was just picking his brain on what he did shooting-wise, routine-wise,#148; Deng said. #147;It#146;s great to have those guys around. They#146;ve done it and they were the best at it, so it#146;s good to be influenced by them.#148;Hinrich still hurting:Kirk Hinrich shot a little and rode the exercise bike on Thursday. It seems unlikely he#146;ll play in Friday#146;s preseason finale against Indiana in South Bend. Coach Tom Thibodeau ruled it a game-time decision.#147;He#146;s a little better, but didn#146;t do much today,#148; Thibodeau said. #147;Just spot shooting for him.#148;Hinrich suffered a right groin strain during Tuesday#146;s win over Oklahoma City and sat out the second half. Nate Robinson is likely to start, and Hinrich#146;s absence will give rookie Marquis Teague a chance to get on the floor, something he may not do very often when the regular season begins next week.Travel plans:When the Bulls played nearby preseason road games in the past, the coaches usually chose to shoot around at the Berto Center in the morning, travel to the game in the afternoon and come straight home when it ended.On Thursday, a motor coach was parked outside the Berto Center after practice. Tom Thibodeau believes in keeping a routine, so the Bulls spent the night in South Bend and will treat Friday#146;s preseason finale against the Pacers as a regular game day.