Bulls' Butler, Cavs' Love sit this one out

Bulls guard Jimmy Butler missed Thursday's game against Cleveland because of a right-shoulder strain and also has bowed out of the skills challenge during all-star weekend.

Butler was replaced in the skills contest by Atlanta guard Dennis Schroder. Butler is expected to try to play in Sunday's All-Star Game in New York. He and Pau Gasol were presented with East all-star jerseys on the court before Thursday's contest.

The Bulls didn't suggest any timetable for Butler's return, but obviously the hope is he will be ready when the regular season resumes next Friday at Detroit.

Cleveland forward Kevin Love also sat out Thursday's game with a corneal abrasion. He was struck in the eye by Miami's Mario Chalmers on Wednesday. Love made the trip to Chicago but was declared out shortly before tipoff.

"It was blurry for about 20-30 minutes, but I was able to regain my vision and I feel fine now," Love said after Wednesday's game, according to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.

Thibs sees surprising results:

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau isn't usually fond of self-analysis, but he gave an interesting response when asked Thursday to assess his team at the all-star break.

"Quite honestly, with all the games and practices missed, I'm a little bit surprised to be where we are," Thibodeau said. "Hopefully we can change it. … It's a hard team to judge right now because of all the moving parts. We've just got to concentrate on the next game."

Cavs coach learns on fly:

Massachusetts native David Blatt has coached EuroLeague powers Maccabi Tel Aviv and CSKA Moscow, but until being hired by Cleveland last summer he had never coached in the NBA, even as an assistant.

Before Thursday's game, he was asked what he has learned about the league this season.

"John Wooden once said, 'It's what you learn after you know everything that counts.' I think every coach in this profession learns something new every day, and certainly me coming into the NBA for the first time I'm in my learning curve," Blatt said.

"But I've coached a few games before, so I have a wealth of experience to draw from."

Pay it forwards:

With his first assist of the night Thursday, Cleveland's LeBron James moved past John Havlicek for the second-most career assists by a forward. James is now fewer than 20 behind Bulls legend Scottie Pippen, the current leader with 6,135.