Bulls: Butler out 3 to 6 weeks with injury
The state of the Bulls could be summarized Monday by a single screen shot: When practice ended, Jimmy Butler walked back to the training room with a thick wrap covering his left elbow. Taj Gibson followed in a walking boot.
Derrick Rose was not in the picture, but we already knew about his prognosis after arthroscopic knee surgery.
The injury report on Butler wasn't great after an MRI exam was performed Monday. He's expected to miss 3-6 weeks with a left elbow sprain. In greater detail, the Bulls called it a "grade 2/3 ulnar ligament sprain and small bone impaction injury."
Rose was given a 4-6 week time frame to return from knee surgery. Assuming Gibson is sidelined for several days, which seems likely, the Bulls will be missing three of their top five scores until further notice.
"It's our reality," coach Tom Thibodeau said at the Advocate Center. "We've got more than enough to get it done. Just find a way to win.
"Yesterday (in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers), it's a tie score with about 6 1/2 minutes to go and it's a one-possession game with 4 minutes to go. We've got to find a way to win. Whoever is out there, just get the job done. Know what your job is and go out there and get it done."
Butler was injured early in the third quarter of the 96-86 loss to the Clippers when he ran into a screen set by burly center DeAndre Jordan. Butler immediately buckled in pain and asked to come out of the game. A few minutes later, he retreated to the locker room and didn't return.
Butler is the Bulls' leading scorer this season at 20.2 points per game and one of their best defenders. The No. 30 overall draft pick made the all-star team this year in his fourth pro season.
"He's a primary scorer," Thibodeau said. "He's a great two-way player, great defender. We have some other guys who are coming on. Tony's coming on. Niko's coming on. Those are pluses."
Thibodeau was referring to Tony Snell, who averaged 13.6 points and shot 52.2 percent from 3-point range in February, and rookie Nikola Mirotic, who scored a career-high 29 points on Sunday. Mirotic scored 16 of the Bulls' 17 fourth-quarter points against the Clippers.
"They've played great when they've had the opportunity," guard Kirk Hinrich said Monday. "Tony's been huge this last month or so and Niko's really coming on. The guys coming in have to step up. In terms of energy, we have to rally around each other, feed off each other."
It's possible the Bulls will look to add a player to help out at practice, if nothing else. But the rotation shouldn't offer any major questions.
Snell will start at shooting guard in place of Butler and play heavy minutes. Nikola Mirotic moves into Gibson's sixth-man role and could also see more time at small forward with Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah. The big front line has worked well at times this season.
Hinrich and Aaron Brooks were already splitting minutes at point guard. So backup guard E'Twaun Moore figures to see action in every game until Butler or Rose return. Moore has been solid this season when given a chance to play.
Rookie Doug McDermott is waiting in the wings, so to speak. He hasn't seen much action since having arthroscopic knee surgery in December, but he is available if the Bulls get in foul trouble or have another injury.
The upcoming schedule is rough. After hosting Washington on Tuesday, the Bulls have a brutal four games in five nights. It starts with Oklahoma City at home on Thursday, then at Indiana, at San Antonio and Memphis at the United Center next Monday.
As of Monday morning, the Bulls were a half-game behind second-place Toronto in the Eastern Conference standings. But at this point, there's not much point in thinking about playoff seeds. They need to survive these next few weeks without Rose, Butler and Gibson, then hope the team is at full strength when the playoffs begin in late April.
"This team, we've got a terrific team with terrific guys," Thibodeau said "They care about each other. They also understand they have a job to do. We have to hold the fort, find a way to scratch wins out and go from there."
• Get the latest Bulls news via Twitter by following @McGrawDHBulls.