McDermott listed as day-to-day with knee strain
After being scratched from Monday's game against Toronto with a sore right knee. Doug McDermott remains day-to-day. The Bulls are calling his injury a knee strain.
McDermott skipped practice to get an MRI exam, which apparently didn't deliver any bad news. McDermott had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last December.
Speaking at the Advocate Center on Tuesday, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg wasn't worried about the possibility of another surgery.
“It's not in the joint, from what I understand,” he said.
McDermott has been up and down this season, but his playing time has slowly increased and he's often on the floor in the fourth quarter. The second-year forward is the Bulls' fifth-leading scorer at 8.8 points per game.
“Doug's been really good for us,” Hoiberg said. “He's been consistent. He really spreads the floor for us and knocks down shots.”
The Bulls are in an important stretch of the schedule, with seven straight games against Eastern Conference playoff contenders. The Bulls will host Indiana on Wednesday, New York on Friday, then have a rematch at Toronto on Sunday, with Boston and Atlanta waiting next week.
As of Tuesday morning, just a game separated the No. 2 and 8 teams in the East.
Snell answers bell:
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg was asked an obvious question Tuesday — why the sudden improvement from Tony Snell, who scored 22 points against the Raptors after not playing at all in two of the previous three games.
“The big thing is, he got his confidence going early,” Hoiberg said. “That's such a big thing, going out and playing with great confidence. And when you can get a couple of your shots to go early, that helps with your overall energy. Tony just hit clutch shot after clutch shot down the stretch.
“Tony was the first guy in the gym again this morning. He'll come back tonight and get up extra shots, and the guys know that. And I know how happy they are for a guy like Tony when he has that kind of performance.”
Bulls good against best:
After Monday's win over Toronto, the Bulls are 9-4 against teams currently in playoff position, but just 8-9 against teams out of the playoffs.
A couple of players acknowledged the issue in the locker room on Monday.
“We've got to do a better job of bringing our focus to every single game,” Aaron Brooks said. “Everybody know that. We came ready to play. That was a good team and good win.”
Added Derrick Rose, “I'd rather have that problem than have a huge problem that we're under .500.”
Bull horns:
Coach Fred Hoiberg said injured forward Mike Dunleavy is two or three weeks away from getting on the court and doing any running. Dunleavy hasn't played this season while recovering from back surgery. … Former Bulls center Brad Miller visited the locker room after Monday's win.