Hinrich back with teammates

A familiar face walked into the Bulls' weight room Friday and was warmly received by friends he hadn't seen in more than a week. The visitor was Kirk Hinrich, who skipped the road trip because of a surgically-repaired right thumb.

He's not ready to start rehabbing the injury, so there was little Hinrich could do besides watch the games on TV and take advantage of more time to spend with his 3-month-old daughter.

"It's definitely a different feeling," Hinrich said. "It's just boring, really. I just watched and talked to the guys (by phone). It's definitely good to see them in person, not just through the TV."

Hinrich has a pin in his thumb that he expects to be removed in a couple of weeks.

Slow practice day: Friday provided strong evidence that coach Vinny Del Negro does things differently from his predecessor, Scott Skiles.

This was the middle of a three-day break for the Bulls, which would have meant 90 minutes to two hours of practice time under Skiles. But the Bulls did very little at Friday's practice, coming off nine days on the road with some nagging injuries. The younger players spent most of their time in the weight room.