No official word on Porter's status, but he's not close to a return
Bulls coach Jim Boylen hadn't yet seen the latest MRI results on Otto Porter's bruised left foot.
Safe to say, though, Porter will be out a few more weeks.
Porter missed his 13th straight game Wednesday with the foot injury. The plan was to reevaluate the injury when the Bulls returned from their West Coast trip. But his lack of activity tells a clear story in itself.
"He does the VersaClimber, he does the bike. He's trying to stay with it," Boylen said before the game. "He shoots a little bit, just kind of get his wrist shots, his hand shots, stuff like that.
"He's trying to do everything he can. He's as frustrated as you would expect. He wants to play and wants to help the team."
There was a similar uncertain diagnosis for Chandler Hutchison, who injured his right shoulder early in the Golden State game last Wednesday when he ran into a screen. This is Hutchison's third injury of the season, following a hamstring strain and shin splints. He's missed 13 of the Bulls' 22 games.
"Hutch is a soft-tissue type of injury," Boylen said. "We think there's no damage to that shoulder. It's sore and bruised and really sensitive right now, but we feel it's something he's going to be able to work through. I know it bothers him when he sleeps, so that's always a problem."
Boylen was asked if the Bulls are at a point where they are thinking about adding a small forward to the roster. Kris Dunn started for the third straight game Wednesday.
"I'm going to hold off on that until we get (Porter's) MRI read, whenever that happens," Boylen said. "Maybe that will tell us it's healing. Maybe it won't. Yeah, it's frustrating."
Long distance turnaround:
The Bulls are starting to zero in on the target. Over the last seven games, they shot 38.5 percent from 3-point range heading into Wednesday's action. They rank sixth in the league during that time span.
In the first 14 games of the season, they shot 32.7 percent, which ranked 25th.
"We're fifth in the league in open 3s," coach Jim Boylen said before the game. "I think in those situations we've gotten good looks and positive things have happened. We just haven't finished it off with a make."
Of course, it's probably true that teams have left the Bulls open at the 3-point line because they haven't shot very well. Heading into this game, Kris Dunn was shooting 16.3 percent from long range, Lauri Markkanen 29.7 percent and Thad Young 32.9.
"Yeah, I think people are going to make you make shots and make you prove it," Boylen said. "Then when you make it, they'll adjust. We have to do a better job of doing that. People go on your last five games, sometimes they go on your last 10 and they set their defense accordingly. We've got to make those shots."
Bull horns:
The Bulls wore their "city edition" uniforms for the first time Wednesday. They're light blue with red trim and only the Bulls' logo on the front, no letters. It's loosely modeled after the Chicago flag. ... The Bulls started the night with a five-game win streak against Memphis, their longest active series streak.