Chicago Bulls' Gibson is questionable to return

With the Bulls' defense already failing, they could use a quick return from power forward Taj Gibson. He missed Wednesday's loss in Orlando with a hamstring injury and is listed as questionable for Saturday's home date with Houston.

"He's still got some soreness in that hamstring," coach Fred Hoiberg said after Friday's practice. "We'll move him around (Saturday) and see how he's doing.

"He's one of our top defenders. When you have Jimmy (Butler) out of the lineup and Jo (Noah) obviously has been out a lineup and you have Taj out of the lineup, you know, we've struggled. Hopefully to get he and Jimmy on the floor together, I think, would definitely be a step in the right direction."

Hoiberg also had news about Nikola Mirotic. Still recovering from an appendectomy and hematoma removal, Mirotic participated in portions of Friday's practice.

"He did some contact," Hoiberg said. "The biggest thing with Niko is getting his wind back, getting in shape. He and Jimmy both have a ways to go on that."

Hoiberg drives and dreams:

Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg told an interesting story about his drive to the Advocate Center from the Western suburbs.

"I sat in the car for an hour and a half coming here, so I was thinking a lot about it," he said. "The sun's shining, I think it's supposed to be 65 degrees next week, and it's such an exciting time of year. I was a part of some really good teams and I was a part of some stinkers.

"It's that time of year right now where if you're not making the playoffs and you're not playing the right way, you're counting down the days for it to be over. On the other hand, those teams that are fighting and jockeying for position, those teams are doing everything in their power to play their best basketball when it matters most.

"That's where I challenged our guys. It's time. We're getting healthy. We're getting our guys back. Now it's about going out there and correcting all the things that have been costing us, especially on the defensive end."

McDermott gets advice:

Jimmy Butler hosted Doug McDermott for a couple weeks of summer workouts in San Diego last year, so Butler is a good source to comment on McDermott's recent scoring surge.

"I've been telling Doug all year: it doesn't matter who is out there on the floor with you," Butler said. "Do what you do. Be aggressive because we need you to be that player. Doesn't matter if I'm back. When you get a shot, you take it. Nobody's going to get mad at you."

McDermott is averaging 15.4 points and shooting 50 percent from the field over the last 10 games.