How long will sore wrist hold Deng out?
Luol Deng set the stage for sitting out a game by finally admitting what seemed obvious — his injured left wrist was bothering him more than he had let on.
Deng made that statement on Thursday after the loss to Orlando and was not in the lineup when the Bulls rolled past Utah 111-97 at the United Center on Saturday. How long he'll be out is anyone's guess. Coach Tom Thibodeau gave the usual, “When he's ready to play, he'll play.”
“He's doing fine. Nothing is happening that wasn't expected,” Thibodeau told reporters during the team's shootaround. “The one thing about Lu is he has a lot of toughness. He's going to play through pain. Medically, if it makes more sense for him not to play, he won't.”
Deng tore a ligament in his left wrist on Jan. 21. Since returning to the lineup two weeks later, he's averaged 14.7 points and 5.8 rebounds. During that time, Deng has shot much better from 3-point range (. 475) than 2-point range (. 362).
Jazz vs. ex-Jazz:
The Bulls started three former Utah players on Saturday against the Jazz in Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer. Boozer (27 points) and Korver (26 points) were the top two scorers and had different reactions to beating their former team.
“It's nice. It's like sprinkles up on top,” Korver joked. “It's not really icing, but some sprinkles. It's good.”
Boozer said he chatted with Utah coach Tyrone Corbin, the former DePaul star, after the contest.
“He's a good friend of mine,” Boozer said. “I want him to make the playoffs and have success in the league. He's a great coach with a bright future ahead of him. I told him after today, I'm rooting for him.
Rookie gets longer run:
With Luol Deng sidelined, rookie forward Jimmy Butler played a season-high 28 minutes on Saturday. He contributed 8 points and 5 rebounds.
After the game, he was asked if he feels more comfortable on the court now, compared to early this season.
“Definitely. I think my teammates have a lot of confidence in me,” Butler said. “They're constantly telling me, ‘Shoot the ball. Make this play, make that play. We know you can score.' Stuff like that, that really helps me out.
“It's not that hard (to sit and watch). This team is a championship-caliber team. I'll take a back seat and watch Lu, watch Ronnie, because they know the ropes and they're good players. I can learn a lot from them.”
Bounce-back continues:
By beating Utah, the Bulls increased their streak of regular season games without losing two in arrow to a franchise-best 75.
Not surprisingly, the second-longest streak of 72 games happened during the 72-win season. They dropped two in a row once that year, on Feb. 4 and 6 at Denver and Phoenix.
The current Bulls haven't lost two straight since last year on Feb. 5 and 7 at Golden State and Portland.