Salmons playing through the pain
John Salmons deserves credit for staying on the court and missing just one game, despite a lingering groin strain. But it's beginning to look like he could use some time off.
Salmons hit 1 of 7 shots for 5 points against the Toronto Raptors, two days after hitting 3 of 11 attempts and scoring 7 points in Detroit.
He was quiet as he left the locker room Wednesday night, but he refused to use the injury as an excuse and vowed to keep playing through it.
"I really don't have no choice," Salmons said. "I've got to start making some shots."
With Luol Deng sidelined with a stress fracture in his right tibia, the Bulls don't have many options at small forward. Linton Johnson played just more than four minutes against the Raptors.
Usually, coach Vinny Del Negro turns to the three-guard offense with Kirk Hinrich at small forward.
"He's been playing injured, but he wanted to play," Del Negro said of Salmons. "His injury has not gotten worse. It's not going to get better until the end of the season.
"He's made some big shots for us in the past. Tonight he obviously didn't play very well; he's not feeling great. There are a lot of guys that are injured and playing though it, and he's one of them."
Since aggravating an old injury March 29 at Toronto, Salmons has averaged 13.0 points and shot 36.8 percent from the field. He was close to 50 percent from the time he joined the Bulls on Feb. 18 until that day.
Cavs rest starters: Cleveland sacrificed its place in history Wednesday to ensure some good health. With a chance to match the best home record in NBA history at 40-1, the Cavs rested their best players against Philadelphia.
LeBron James, Mo Williams, Joe Smith, Ben Wallace and Zydrunas Ilgauskas sat out, while the Cavaliers used a starting lineup of Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, Anderson Varejao, Sasha Pavlovic and Darnell Jackson.
Once the Bulls lost to Toronto, their chances at the No. 6 seed were in Cleveland's hands. The Cavs forced overtime before losing 111-110.
"I wish I was 39-1 at home," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said about the Cavs resting their stars. "It's probably the smart move to keep them healthy and get ready for the playoffs.
"They have a chance to tie the record, but they're looking big picture. They're looking to get deep in the playoffs or win a championship."
Bull horns: Toronto's Andrea Bargnani was a late scratch because of a heel injury. - Here is Raptors forward Shawn Marion on knocking the Bulls into the No. 7 playoff seed: "It was not about them; it was about us. I could not even take my normal nap today because it was the last game. I'm not used to missing the playoffs, but I guess I'll take a little vacation and go watch some playoff games."