The Chicago Bulls have now lost five games in a row and they have played their way out of the top eight playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.  Many of the players on the Chicago Bulls are battling injuries, and it could be the reason why the Bulls have been playing so poorly lately.  Joakim Noah has been out with plantar fasciitis since February 27th and has only played in four games since February 4th.  He is not expected back anytime soon, but he is slowly getting better since he is now out of his walking boot/cast.  Rookie center Taj Gibson, who has been having a great season, is also battling plantar fasciitis.  Although Gibson’s plantar fasciitis is not as serious as Noah’s, he was one of three active Bulls’ players to sit out practice today (Wednesday) and he is questionable for tomorrow night’s game against the Orlando Magic.  The other two who missed practice were Luol Deng (calf) and Brad Miller (thumb).  The good news is that Miller’s thumb won’t keep him out of the lineup and it hasn’t been affecting his shooting.  Deng’s calf strain is not deemed serious.  Still, it looks like Deng may be out the next few games for the Bulls which won’t help them get out of their losing streak.  The Bulls have some tough teams left on their schedule, so if they don’t get healthy and start playing better defensively they will likely miss the playoffs.

Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls are sorely missing their center, Joakim Noah.  Rose has been stepping up his play with Noah out, but Noah and his plantar fasciitis injury has really set the Bulls frontcourt back, especially when it comes to defense and rebounding.  Without Noah, the Bulls are a different team defensively and they need to score more points because of it.  They haven’t really been doing that, and the Bulls have now lost four straight games because of it.  You can’t blame Derrick Rose though, since he has been playing some great basketball lately.  In the past five games he is averaging 27.6 points, 4.5 assists, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.8 steals while shooting 56% from the field.  Rose is definitely doing his part, but he (and every other Bull) could help a little more hitting the glass.  Rose is averaging 3.8 rebounds per game on the season and he has been consistently below that average lately, so rebounding is the only thing he needs to improve on right now.  Although Rose has been stepping it up when it comes to scoring, he can’t do it himself and the win/loss column is proving that.  Taj Gibson and Brad Miller have been doing their part lately, but guys like Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Hakim Warrick, and Flip Murray are not carrying their load on offense.  If those guys don’t start shooting the ball better and helping Rose with the scoring load, the Bulls are going to be in big trouble.

The Bulls were leading this game 80-76 heading into the 4th quarter before the roof caved in on them. It doesn’t help your chances when you get outrebounded 46-31 and let the opposing team shoot 52.6% from the floor and that’s exactly what the Bulls did last night. Luol Deng led the way for the Bulls last night with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Derrick Rose had a solid game also last night for the Bulls with 20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Brad Miller pitched in with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists last night. The Bulls are now 31-30 on the year.

The Chicago Bulls have released the 39-year-old veteran guard Lindsey Hunter and have signed the second year forward/center Chris Richard for the rest of the season.  This was only Hunter’s second season with the Bulls, but he was with the Bulls to provide some veteran leadership and be there as a mentor to some of the Bulls’ young players.  So, the Bulls are not going to miss Hunter’s production on the court, but he will be missed in the locker room.  Hunter played in 13 games for the Bulls this season and averaged 1.0 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 9.4 minutes per game.  This move was made to make room for the young big-man, Chris Richard.  The Bulls are very banged up right now, especially in the front court, so Richard will add some more depth there.  The 6′9″ 256-pound Richard appeared in 5 games for the Bulls a few weeks ago, and averaged 2.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 14.4 minutes per game.  The Bulls are hoping Richard can come in and hit the glass hard and provide another big body on defense.

Joakim Noah’s plantar fasciitis in his left foot just won’t go away, and the Chicago Bulls have decided to sit him down for the next three weeks to give it some more time to heal.  After missing seven straight games in February for the injury, Noah attempted to play through it and contribute what he could to the Bulls.  That little experiment only lasted three games though, even though his minutes were limited.  After playing just 7 and 12 minutes in the first two games back, the Bulls put him out there for 27 minutes in a win against Portland last Friday.  In that game Noah had 8 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists, but the next game he could not go.  After missing the past two games, the Bulls have now decided to keep him out for the next three weeks to see if the plantar fasciitis can get any better before the playoffs.  I think this is the right move by the Bulls, since they are going to need Noah in the playoffs since he is their leading rebounder (11.4 rpg), shot blocker (1.56 bpg), and emotional leader.  I’m not sure why the Bulls even tried to play Noah since it may have set his recovery back, but now that they have shut him down hopefully he will be healthy enough for the playoffs.