Finally, some encouraging news on Bulls' injury front
The Bulls went back to selling hope on Tuesday.
Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson participated in the full practice at the Advocate Center, according to coach Tom Thibodeau. Derrick Rose is making good progress in his recovery from arthroscopic knee surgery.
So maybe there's a chance the Bulls will be back to full strength relatively soon. The regular-season finale is four weeks away.
"It's critical for us. There's 14 games left. You want to build some continuity," Thibodeau said. "And it'd be good to have everyone out there. You look at all three guys and they're critical to our team. When we have those guys, it gives us good depth."
Thibodeau is hopeful Butler and Gibson will play sometime this week. The Bulls released an injury report stating all three players will remain out for Wednesday's home game against Indiana. Next on the schedule is Toronto on Friday at the United Center.
"Getting better. I don't think I'm there quite yet," Butler said. "I want to be (back), that's for sure, but I can't rush it. I don't want it to get any worse."
Butler has missed eight games with a left elbow sprain, which happened when he ran into a pick against the L.A. Clippers on March 1. Gibson has been out nine games since rolling his left ankle against Minnesota on Feb. 27.
After Tuesday's practice, Butler was one of the last players to leave the court. He took left-handed shots from every spot on the floor, including the free-throw line, even though he's a right-handed shooter. Butler said his biggest concern is the pain when his left elbow extends too far.
"I don't think it has full range yet," he said. "It's never going to have full range while I'm playing, but I think it will feel better in a few days."
Asked if bracing himself on a fall is his biggest concern, Butler joked, "I'll make sure I land on my head or something."
Rose last played against Milwaukee on Feb. 23 and had a loose piece of cartilage removed from his right knee four days later. He was given a recovery time of 4-6 weeks. Thibodeau said Rose did most of the noncontact portions of Tuesday's practice.
"It's the next phase of his rehab. He still has to obviously strengthen the knee," Thibodeau said. "But it was good. It's a good step for him.
"I'd say he's on schedule, maybe even slightly ahead. It's good steady progress. As long as he's able to keep moving forward like this, I think it's a real good sign."
Butler, Rose and Gibson represent three of the team's top five scorers. The Bulls (40-28) won their first two games without those three, beating Washington and Oklahoma City. Since then, they've gone 1-5 while playing five of six on the road.
Clearly, Thibodeau is eager to start building cohesion for the stretch run. Wherever the Bulls land in the Eastern Conference standings, the playoffs will be a challenge. But at full strength, they like their chances.
"We knew with all the guys being out that basically we had to hold the fort until they could get back," Thibodeau said. "The last 10 games, I think our guys did a lot of good things. We were 4-6. Obviously, we'd like to do better. It could've been worse. We had a shot to win almost all those games. As a matter of fact, we could've won them all."
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Bulls game day
Bulls vs. Indiana Pacers at the United Center, 7 p.m. Wednesday
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: ESPN 1000-AM
Outlook: The Bulls are 1-2 this season against the Pacers, losing in Indianapolis 98-84 on Mar. 6. The Pacers have gone 13-4 since Feb. 4, but enter this one on a two-game losing streak after dropping home games to Boston and Toronto. Indiana's leading scorer against the Bulls this season has been SF Solomon Hill at 15.7 ppg. Overall this season, PG George Hill is the team's top scorer at 14.9 ppg. SG Rodney Stuckey is averaging 18.6 points in March. The Pacers (30-36) rank third in both points allowed (96.3) and opponents' field-goal percentage (. 432).
Next: Toronto Raptors at the United Center on Friday, 7 p.m.
- Mike McGraw