Ailing Pargo visits specialist in Philly

Jannero Pargo has skipped just one game this season, but he's been struggling since training camp with tightness in his back and hip. He thinks it might be a byproduct of surgery he had in June to repair a sports hernia.

So the backup guard spent Thursday in Philadelphia visiting a specialist. Pargo is planning to meet the Bulls in Cleveland and may be available to play against the Cavs on Friday.

"He's been fighting through it with the lack of bodies we have and I appreciate that," coach Vinny Del Negro said Thursday at the Berto Center. "But we need to get him healthy and feeling better when he gets out there. When he starts to run, it just locks up on him. If we can find a way to help that, he'll be more productive."

Pargo was brought in to provide some scoring punch off the bench, but he's averaging just 5.0 points and shooting 38 percent from the field so far.

Meanwhile, Kirk Hinrich shot around Thursday and may be ready to return from a sprained left thumb on Saturday when the Bulls host Toronto.

"He wants to get out there," Del Negro said. "It's more us holding him back a little bit just to be a little bit smart this early in the season."

Johnson needs more time: For about the 10th time this season, coach Vinny Del Negro suggested he needs to do a better job of getting rookie forward James Johnson on the court. Johnson didn't play at all in the last two games against Detroit and Milwaukee.

"I think he can help us in certain areas," Del Negro said. "He's young, he's going to make mistakes. But I think the last two or three weeks, he's putting a lot of extra work in and his attitude and his approach to things has been really good.

"Not that it wasn't (good) before, but I have to do a better job of finding him minutes and getting some other guys' minutes down, and hopefully we'll evolve into that."

Feeling no pain: Asked if he's still feeling any pain in his broken left arm, Tyrus Thomas replied that he hasn't felt any pain throughout the process - even when he first broke his radius while doing a pull-up at the Berto Center.

He's still wearing a splint at times, but may be ready to return to practice within the next week.

Bull horns: Cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal missed six games recently with a shoulder injury, then returned for the last three. He's averaging 11.2 points and 7.1 rebounds on the season ... The Bulls haven't swept two games in Cleveland since the 1995-96 season.