Deng might be close to return

The Bulls are hoping a few more days of rest will be good for Luol Deng's sore left Achilles.

Deng missed his second game with the injury on Tuesday against the Knicks, and the Bulls have two days off before their next game in Philadelphia.

"I really have no idea," Deng said when asked if he expects to play Friday. "It's getting better."

The Bulls were short-handed at small forward Tuesday since Andres Nocioni was limited to 16 minutes because of flu-like symptoms.

Before the game, coach Jim Boylan admitted he's not sure when Deng will be ready.

"We're hoping he can come back quickly, but it's out of my hands," Boylan said. "It's how he feels. What the docs think. What (trainer) Fred (Tedeschi) thinks. We're hoping he comes back soon, but there's no telling at this point."

Noah takes center circle: Fans may have noticed that the Bulls developed a new pregame ritual in recent weeks. At the end of introductions, instead of getting in a circle and simply rocking back and forth, now rookie Joakim Noah jumps into the middle and does a little screaming and gesturing.

Asked about his role in the pregame huddle, Noah wasn't even sure how he got the job.

"Tyrus (Thomas) used to do it and he got tired of doing it," Noah said. "I was in the huddle and they just pushed me in there. So it was just my turn. Every time I just get pushed in there, I just do it. I don't even know who's pushing me."

For the record, Noah was between Thabo Sefolosha and Viktor Khryapa when he jumped to the center of the ring before Tuesday's game, but it didn't look like he needed to be pushed.

Ben Gordon offered no preference between Noah and Thomas for ringleader.

"No, they're both equally bad," he joked.

Isiah won't quit: Chants of "Fire Isiah" break out at nearly every Knicks home game at Madison Square Garden these days. But Chicago native Isiah Thomas repeated Monday that he has no plans to resign, take a leave of absence or return to his team president role full time.

"I know I won't find a more passionate person and a more committed person to do this than myself," Thomas told New York reporters. "Sure, there could be smarter people. But in terms of the determination and a passion to make it right, I know I'm not going to find anyone out there who wants to do it more than I want to do it right now."

Bull horns: Chris Duhon showed signs of coming out of his shooting slump. He hit 4 of 8 shots for 9 points against the Knicks after starting the night missing 23 of his last 24 attempts. … Jim Boylan said the Bulls are no longer talking about adding another assistant coach.