Hobbled Hinrich calls Game 4 ‘exhausting, grueling’
After playing nearly 60 minutes in Saturday’s triple-overtime marathon win, Kirk Hinrich hobbled out of the locker room.
A day later, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said Hinrich had a bruised calf, but wouldn’t speculate on his availability for Monday’s Game 5 in Brooklyn. The Bulls lead the series 3-1.
“I don’t want to jump to any conclusions,” he said. “We’ll see where he is tomorrow.”
Hinrich basically shadowed Nets guard Deron Williams throughout Game 4, although he played two minutes more. The Bulls did give him a break at times by shifting Jimmy Butler onto Williams. They’ve done that throughout the series, but it became especially useful Saturday after Hinrich picked up his fifth foul midway through the fourth quarter. He was able to avoid No. 6 during the three overtimes.
“It was exhausting,” Hinrich said after the game. “It was grueling.”
Joakim Noah’s sore right foot was doing reasonably well Sunday, according to Thibodeau. Noah ended up played 39 minutes after Thibodeau said before the game his minutes would be in the 25-30 range.
After the game, Noah said his recent recovery from plantar fasciitis has been a “miracle.”
“The big thing was from the end of the regular season, where he would play, but the next day he would be extremely sore,” Thibodeau said. “Now he’s at the point where he’s playing and he doesn’t have that same soreness the next day. So that’s a big plus for us, and he’s starting to get his timing back.”
No time to relax:The Bulls held a film session Sunday at the Berto Center before flying to New York. There was plenty of talk after Saturday#146;s triple-overtime win that this is no time to relax, one victory short of ending the series.#147;After you win in the playoffs, you feel so good,#148; Joakim Noah said. #147;There#146;s no adjective that describes how good it feels to win a playoff game. You just have to be smart and understand there#146;s another one coming soon and the other team is really upset and is going to be very hungry.#148;Added Thibodeau, #147;Each game is different. That game#146;s not going to have any meaning when the ball goes up tomorrow. We have to be ready to play right from the start.#148;Carlesimo reflects on loss:During a conference call with New York reporters, Brooklyn coach P.J. Carlesimo talked Sunday about how the Nets will recover from the Game 4 collapse.#147;I think yesterday was #151; #145;disappointment#146; is probably not strong enough #151; an extremely tough way to lose,#148; Carlesimo said. #147;But that#146;s what it is, a loss. Having the day between is good. We have to move away from the disappointment and channel it into anger or resolve or whatever else.#147;It#146;s 3-1. The mindset will be totally different tomorrow, and if we get the job done, then it#146;ll be totally different on Thursday (for Game 6). People always say, #145;You win or you go home,#146; and this for us is an actual example of that. We feel we can beat the Bulls.#148;Sad Rose anniversary:Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of Derrick Rose suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the waning moments of a playoff victory over Philadelphia. He had surgery on May 12.The Bulls set his recovery time at 9 to 12 months, so it#146;s conceivable he#146;ll play if the team reaches the second round of the playoffs.#147;There#146;s always a chance,#148; coach Tom Thibodeau said.Butler saves game:Jimmy Butler helped save Game 4 with an underappreciated play at the end of the fourth quarter. After Deron Williams missed a 13-foot fadeaway, teammate Gerald Wallace had a point-blank putback attempt with time left on the clock, but Butler flew in and blocked it.Butler said the play was somewhat accidental.#147;I jumped to get the rebound,#148; he said. #147;It just so happened that he (Wallace) jumped at the same time I did. The basketball play was try to get a piece of the ball.#148;