Injuries will affect how Bulls match up against James and Wade
The Miami Heat was at full strength Friday against New York, with Dwyane Wade back on the floor after missing six games with an ankle injury.
As the Bulls headed south for the first matchup this season against their Eastern Conference finals opponent, their defense against Wade and LeBron James was undecided.
It's possible no one in the NBA has spent more time guarding James the last nine seasons than Luol Deng. But Deng is doubtful for Sunday afternoon's game at Miami because of a torn ligament in his left wrist.
Coach Tom Thibodeau didn't rule Deng out, but Deng himself estimated Saturday he's at least a week away from returning.
“He did more today than he's ever done,” Thibodeau said Saturday at the Berto Center. “So he's feeling better. But he's still not practicing yet. He's doing a lot of individual work and a lot of therapy. He's getting closer.”
Asked to list some of Deng's activities, Thibodeau wasn't specific.
“It's just that he's more aggressive with his moves,” he said. “Each day, he's adding more layers to what he's doing. You don't know. He's doing better today and hopefully he's doing better tomorrow.”
Then there's shooting guard Richard Hamilton. The Bulls' biggest addition of the off-season skipped Friday's win over Milwaukee with a thigh bruise. Asked if Hamilton will play against Miami, Thibodeau's response began with sort of a high-pitched groan that cannot be spelled.
“He did a little bit; did some shooting, that's about it,” Thibodeau said. “He's a little better than he was yesterday.”
But the Bulls were on the court for nearly two hours Saturday. Even if they end up playing without Deng and Hamilton, they're looking forward to a rematch with the Heat.
Last year, the Bulls went 3-0 against Miami in the regular season but lost the Eastern Conference finals in five games.
“It's definitely a game you circle on the calendar as soon as the schedule comes out,” Joakim Noah said. “Losing to Miami definitely stunk. You learn from your experiences and see if we can get it done.”
Heat forward Chris Bosh acknowledged the conference finals weren't a typical five-game series. The Bulls lost Game 4 at Miami in overtime, then squandered a 12-point lead in the final four minutes of Game 5. They could have easily returned to Florida for Game 6 with a 3-2 lead.
“Even though we wrapped it up in five, it didn't seem like it,” Bosh told reporters in Miami. “It seemed like it was a lot closer, which it was. They're a good basketball team. They're going to be around for a long time and every year I think if we want to get to where we want to go, we're going to have to beat those guys.”
The Bulls (17-4) hold a 2-game advantage for the Eastern Conference lead, but these teams will play three more times late in the season. So there won't be tremendous meaning to this game, other than two teams that expect to be playing for high stakes later on.
“We enjoy it,” James said. “We got those type of guys that love the big stage, if that's what you want to call it.”
With Hamilton and Deng nursing injuries, Ronnie Brewer figures to be one starter. He and Keith Bogans helped harass Wade into subpar shooting (40.5 percent) during the conference finals. Brewer may not match up as well against the taller, stronger James.
“Either way you look at it, it's a difficult task at hand,” Brewer said. “It's not like you can be like, ‘Oh, it's easier to guard Dwyane Wade than LeBron, or vice-versa.' It's going to be a tough matchup whoever I draw.”
Kyle Korver started in Hamilton's place Friday. If the Bulls are without both Hamilton and Deng, Thibodeau might have to adjust because of the difficult defensive matchups.