Bruised knee sidelines Bulls' Butler
The Bulls expected to debut their full starting lineup Wednesday night, with Joakim Noah back from a three-game absence. It didn't happen, though, because Jimmy Butler landed on the injured list.
Butler was said to have a bruised knee, the result of a knee-to-knee collision with Washington's John Wall during Saturday's game in Brazil. As expected, coach Tom Thibodeau termed Butler's status as “day to day.”
Newcomer Mike Dunleavy started in Butler's spot at shooting guard and scored 9 points. Butler's absence also meant more minutes for rookie Tony Snell, who scored 12.
After missing the three previous games with a groin strain, Noah made his preseason debut. Rusty might describe his performance. Noah grabbed 8 rebounds but went 0-for-3 from the field for 2 points in 20 minutes.
Rose Jr. gets new view:Before Wednesday's game, Derrick Rose said he was looking forward to his 1-year old son finally getting to see his dad in action.#8220;He's still confused right now when he sees me play on TV,#8221; Rose said. #8220;When he sees a poster of me anywhere, it confuses him. I can't wait until the day where he knows I'm actually playing. He loves the game already. He's going to be a fan of the game.#8221;Is he dribbling the ball like his dad yet?#8220;He's double-dribbling right now, but he's going to be all right,#8221; Rose said.Bid for the ages:If the Bulls decide to go with experience on the final roster, veteran point guard Mike James has a pretty good chance. James turned 38 in June but was good enough to start 23 games for Dallas last season.#8220;I'm smarter. I think I got more charges early in my career because I had such a reckless-abandon way of playing,#8221; James said. #8220;But now I'm a smarter ballplayer.#8220;Maybe where I've lost a step, I've gained wisdom and understanding of the game. Overall, I'm the same weight, same body fat that I've been since my rookie year. They always make the statement, you lose what you don't use. But I still use it, so I haven't lost it.#8221;Bull horns:Midway through the third quarter, the Bulls scored on an all-Duke fastbreak #8212; Luol Deng to Mike Dunleavy to Carlos Boozer for the lay-in. #8230; Former Indiana star D.J. White made his preseason debut, playing the final 3:26.