Noah, Rose and Gibson ready to go for Bulls
On the eve of their playoff opener, the Bulls seemed relatively healthy.
Everyone practiced besides guard Kirk Hinrich, who missed the last two games with a hyperextended left knee. His availability for Saturday's Game 1 against Milwaukee at the United Center is questionable.
Joakim Noah, who sat out the last two games with a hamstring issue, stayed on the court after practice at the Advocate Center and worked on offensive moves against teammate Cameron Bairstow.
"He looked good," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said of Noah. "The time off I think was good for him."
A couple other lingering issues are Derrick Rose sitting out the second half of Wednesday's game against Atlanta with left knee soreness and Taj Gibson getting a cortisone shot to help a sore left shoulder. Both players practiced on Friday.
"They're ready to go," Mike Dunleavy said. "Nothing's perfect in terms of finishing the season with a fully healthy roster and everybody at a thousand percent, but they're as ready as they can be right now and we feel confident they can play."
Dunleavy gave an added endorsement for Rose's readiness. The former MVP hasn't taken the floor for a playoff game since April 28, 2012, when he tore his ACL against Philadelphia.
"It was just a little bump in the road (against Atlanta)," Dunleavy said. "The last couple days he's looked pretty good. I have no hesitation in saying he'll be ready."
Memories of Milwaukee:
Mike Dunleavy is two years removed from playing for the Bucks, so he has more Milwaukee ties than anyone on the current Bulls roster.
"Different roster. There are like two guys there when I was there two years ago," Dunleavy said. "Pretty quick turnover. New coaching staff, new ownership. I grew up there, my dad was a coach. I played there, my dad played there. There's some familiarity with the area and people, but it's a different team."
Dunleavy was part of the Bucks' last playoff team in 2013, when they lost to Miami in the first round. This year, probably no one in America predicted Milwaukee to make the playoffs coming off a 15-win season.
"Nobody expected anything from them all year long. (They) had the worst record in the league last year," he said. "But here they are, sixth seed in the East. We're prepared for a battle. They're young, energetic, well coached and we need to get off to a good start in Game 1."
Thibs has been there:
Tom Thibodeau has reason to fell optimistic about the Bulls making a run at the Finals from the No. 3 seed in the East.
Thibodeau has been to the Finals with New York as a No. 8 seed in 1999 and a No. 4 with Boston in 2010. The 2010 Celtics finished with a 50-32 record, same as the Bulls this season.
"You have to embrace whatever comes your way," Thibodeau said. "This has been a very challenging year with all the injuries and guys in and out. But I've been through that before."