Injured Bulls will have to earn back their spots

SALT LAKE CITY -- Even though they won just once, the Bulls played about as well as they have all season in the past three games. So what happens when Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng come back from injury?

"If guys have been out an extended period of time, they have to work their way back in," coach Jim Boylan said. "No one's going to have anything given to them. Everybody's going to have to earn their playing time and earn their starting spots."

Gordon was coming off the bench before he was hurt, so that won't change. When Hinrich returns, Chris Duhon probably deserves at least one more chance to start based solely on his 34-point game at Golden State.

"The situation we're in is one where time is running out," Boylan added. "After the all-star break, we have 30 games left. It's time now to do everything we can to win. So we will do everything we have to do to try to win."

Kirk close to return: The Bulls may get some players back soon. Kirk Hinrich said he will be back for sure Tuesday when the Bulls host New Orleans, while Ben Gordon is optimistic he will be ready.

Coach Jim Boylan suggested Hinrich could have played if this was a playoff game, but the team doesn't want to risk him taking another hit to his bruised ribs.

"It bothers me when I take a deep breath and when I sleep," Hinrich said. "Normally when I sleep I roll over a lot. Every time I roll over, it wakes me up and I'll be up for a while. It's just sore, really uncomfortable, all the time."

Gordon has a sprained right wrist that forced him to miss eight of the last 10 games. He plans to visit a specialist when the team returns to Chicago.

"I'm sure it's just a sprain," Gordon said. "I just don't want to continue to aggravate it. It's feeling better every day."

Luol Deng, meanwhile, expects to start running Monday. He has been out since Jan. 23 with left Achilles' tendinitis.

Ben doesn't see end:ΠBen Wallace refused to respond directly to an ESPN.com item that claimed he expects to be traded by the Feb. 21 deadline.

"No comment," he said. "I'll be here 'til I'm gone."

Wallace was then asked if he thinks it would be unfair to shake up a roster when the same nucleus of players won 49 games last season. In theory, the Bulls could turn things in a better direction.

"We're in the right direction now," Wallace said. "We've just got to keep playing and keep letting the critics talk."

Brown a Utah fan: Bulls assistant coach Mike Brown spent five seasons with the Jazz from 1988-93. Unlike some other NBA players, Brown had no complaints about living in Salt Lake City.

"I lived here for eight years," Brown said. "I lived here even after I was traded somewhere else. Being a city guy (from Newark, N.J.), I enjoyed the outdoors. The mountains, the lake, being able to see that part of the country. I enjoyed it."

Bull horns: Ben Wallace has gone 9-for-29 from the foul line in the last five games, but he did snap a string of 9 straight misses by hitting 4 in a row during the second half Saturday. … Utah shooting guard Ronnie Brewer sat out with a bruised tailbone.