Johnson latest Bull to suffer from foot problem
Another foot injury has left the Bulls thin at small forward. Before Saturday's game coach Vinny Del Negro revealed that rookie James Johnson has a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot.
Johnson had started seven of the previous eight games in place of Luol Deng, who still is out with a right-calf strain. The Bulls are familiar with plantar fasciitis, which has sidelined Joakim Noah for 18 games this season and bothered forward Taj Gibson all year.
Johnson felt something pop in his right foot during the first quarter of Thursday's loss to Miami. He left the game but later returned and played 13 more minutes. So no one is sure if Johnson's injury is something he can play through or one that could force him to miss the final 10 games of the regular season.
"No one has any idea right now how his foot's going to react," Del Negro said. "It's such a difficult injury to figure out. For him to even try to go out there and go through exercises, I was surprised. It's a very painful injury."
Johnson walked without a limp Saturday and before the game strolled into the locker room dripping with sweat following a workout.
"I just went out there and tried to warm up on it and it wasn't doing so well," Johnson said, but he was optimistic when asked if he will be out for an extended stretch. "I don't think so. Just get the right treatment and some rest on it and I should be all right."
Del Negro went with a small lineup against the Nets, using Derrick Rose to guard small forward Jarvis Hayes. The Bulls are hoping Deng might be able to return by next Saturday when they host Charlotte.
Rough finish: Things got a little heated toward the end of Saturday's game. Jannero Pargo took exception to a flagrant foul from Nets forward Kris Humphries and got a technical foul.
A few minutes later, Chris Douglas-Roberts wrapped up Joe Alexander for no apparent reason and was hit with a technical. Several Bulls appeared to give Douglas-Roberts a good-natured hard time when he came over to embrace Derrick Rose, his college teammate at Memphis, after the game.
Bull horns: If the Bulls win Sunday at Detroit, they'll sweep the season series against the Pistons for the first time since 1995-96. - Rolling Meadows native Aaron Williams, who played with the Nets in the 2002 and '03 Finals, was at Saturday's game.