With Hinrich sidelined, will Bulls start Gordon?
One of the first steps after suffering a significant loss is to acknowledge the impact that person made on the lives of others.
Following Monday's practice at the Berto Center, Bulls rookie Derrick Rose spoke about how much he'll miss playing with Kirk Hinrich, who will be sidelined for three months with a torn ligament in his right thumb.
"It's going to be hard," Rose said. "Kirk, he was like the leader on the floor, telling me everything. While we were playing, he was teaching me."
Hinrich should be back on the floor sometime around the all-star break in February. In the meantime, the Bulls have to move on without him. They have three challenging home games this week, starting tonight with the Atlanta Hawks, the only undefeated team in the Eastern Conference.
The Bulls are closely watching the status of two other injured players. Guard Larry Hughes (dislocated right shoulder) participated fully in Monday's practice. He ruled himself out for tonight's game, but could return Thursday when the Bulls host Dallas.
"I went through some contact, but it's feeling pretty good," Hughes said. "A little (pain) here or there, nothing dramatic. I just have to get back used to it."
Power forward Drew Gooden (sprained right ankle), meanwhile, skipped practice and appears questionable at best for tonight's contest. Atlanta won't have small forward Josh Smith, who suffered an ankle injury on Friday.
The next question is what to do with the lineups. Should the Bulls start Ben Gordon at shooting guard and match him against 6-foot-7 Joe Johnson (25.2 ppg) or go back to using 6-7 Thabo Sefolosha as a starter?
It sounds as though coach Vinny Del Negro is leaning toward sticking with Gordon and Rose, who both stand about 6-feet-2. At least Gordon (20.0 ppg) will make Johnson work on defense. Sefolosha scored just 4 points per game during his five games as a starter.
"We'll look at some more film today," Del Negro said. "Joe Johnson's a tough cover no matter if they put a big guy, a small guy, whatever. We'll make that decision (today)."
Gordon and Rose are still trying to develop a chemistry together, but Rose's presence already seems to be giving Gordon (49.5 field-goal percentage) more open looks at the basket. The Bulls may use this week as a chance to experiment with a small starting backcourt. Dallas has been using either 6-2 Jason Terry or 6-7 Antoine Wright at shooting guard. Indiana, which visits on Saturday, starts 6-6 Marquis Daniels.
By next Tuesday, when the annual circus road trip tips off with a matchup against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, the 6-5 Hughes should be ready to move in as a starter if Del Negro feels a taller guard is needed.
"Whoever starts, he's not going to play 48 minutes," Gordon said. "Whoever's out there is going to have to play him some of the time, anyway.
"(Johnson) kills everybody. I really don't know if how tall a guy is has to do with anything. We just have to try and play team defense. He's a great player, but I think we need to make him play both ends of the floor and that's what we plan on doing."