Another two weeks before Deng's return

Vinny Del Negro wasn't kidding when he said forward Luol Deng may have suffered a setback in his recovery from a right calf sprain in Dallas on Wednesday.

Deng felt he was close to returning from the injury, which first occurred on March 9 against Utah. But something happened while Deng tried to warm up before the Mavericks game and now he's expected to be out at least two more weeks.

"Luol's going to be out a while," Del Negro said. "It was feeling better every day, thought he was getting close. He was doing some kind of straight ahead jogging and it really swelled up on him. He's got more inflammation now than he did before, so that's a setback. He's definitely going to be out for a little bit."

Of course, this is exactly what the Bulls didn't need as they struggle to stay in playoff contention. Derrick Rose missed his fourth game with a sprained left wrist and Joakim Noah hasn't played since Feb. 26.

"It's definitely March Madness," Del Negro joked. "It has nothing to do with college basketball. It's tough; it's maddening. I can't control those things. Derrick, Joakim, Luol, they all want to be out there. We want to get back to playing the way we're capable of. That's not going to happen now for a little while."

Break time: Despite everything that's gone wrong for the Bulls, there is a clear break in the schedule. It starts Saturday at Philadelphia, which has lost 11 of 13 games after dropping one in New York on Friday.

After that, the Bulls play eight of their final 13 games at home. There are a few tough ones at the UC, such as Phoenix, Boston and Cleveland again, but nothing like the nine-game run of rough opponents they just saw.

"It is (easier), but we don't have our team," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "Everyone thinks playing some of the teams that have lesser records is easy. It doesn't work like that. The way we're structured right now, with everything we're dealing, there are no easy games for us - even when we're healthy."

Noah hopes to play: Joakim Noah said before Friday's game that he's still hoping to play Saturday in Philadelphia. Noah hasn't been on the court since Feb. 26 because of plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

"If he does play, and I don't know that yet, it will be a very limited number of minutes," Del Negro said.

Bull horns: The Bulls' streak of giving up 100 points finally ended at 12 straight games, their longest stretch since 1986. - Veteran center Zydrunas Ilgauskas is expected to re-sign with the Cavs on Monday. He was sent to Washington for Antawn Jamison, but can return 30 days after agreeing to a contract settlement.