26-year old small forward Luol Deng has a torn ligament in his left hand, which has caused him to miss the last couple of games.  He is vowing to return to action this coming up Sunday….and that would give a big boost to the Bulls….if he can withstand the pain.  Deng has played in 18 games (all starts) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 38.3 minutes, 15.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  26-year old Ronnie Brewer has taken over at small forward with Deng out of action.  In his two starts at small forward, Brewer is averaging 15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game, as he has been playing well.  Brewer has now played in 20 games (12 starts) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 25.0 minutes, 7.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  As good as Brewer has been playing lately, the Bulls can’t wait for Deng to return to action.

24-year old center Omer Asik only lasted two minuted last night.  The reason was because he was diagnosed with a fractured left fibula today which ends his rookie season officially.  Asik played in 82 games (0 starts) during the regular season and he averaged 12.1 minutes, 2.8 points, 3.8 rebounds  and 0.4 assists per game.  He also played 15 games (0 starts) in the playoffs in which he averaged 9.9 minutes, 1.0 point, 2.1 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  The Bulls will turn to 38-year old Kurt Thomas to replace Asik as the backup center the rest of the year.  Thomas played in 52 games (37 starts) for the Bulls during the regular season and he averaged 22.7 minutes, 4.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  He has only played in 6 games (0 starts) during the playoffs and he is averaging 9.3 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  I have a feeling that Thomas is going to step up for the Bulls, just like he did when Joakim Noah was injured earlier this year.

25-year old center Joakim Noah’s rehab is going so well that he should be able to return right after the All-Star Break.  Noah has played in 24 games (all starts) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 36.8 minutes, 14.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.6 blocked shots per game.  It should be downright scary for the rest of the NBA (especially the Eastern Conference) to see the Bulls get Noah back as they are 34-15 on the year which has them as the #3 seed in the East right now, just 3.5 games behind the Boston Celtics.  Kudos to 38-year old center Kurt Thomas who has filled in for Joakim Noah.  Thomas has played in 30 games (24 starts) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 23.6 minutes, 4.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  Thomas will go back to the bench when Noah returns, giving the Bulls even more depth on the bench.

The Bulls will be without 25-year old starting center Joakim Noah for the next 8-10 weeks after he had surgery today on one of his thumbs.  Noah has played in 24 games (all starts) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 36.8 minutes, 14.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.6 blocked shots per game.  This is a big blow to the Bulls who often feed off Noah’s energy and hustle on both ends of the court.

Starting power forward Carlos Boozer said that he tripped over some luggage trying to answer his doorbell and he broke his hand because he landed wrong. Boozer will be out of action for the next 8 weeks meaning that he will miss the first month of the regular season. This is a huge blow for the Bulls as they were depending on Boozer to team up inside with Joakim Noah so the Bulls could own the glass. Second year man Taj Gibson will replace Boozer while he is out of action.

Joakim Noah almost had his season ruined by the plantar fasciitis injury he has battled for a good portion of the year, and it has almost ruined the Chicago Bulls playoff chances as well.  Noah returned on March 20th after missing 10 games, receiving very limited minutes.  His minutes have slowly increased over the past couple of weeks and Head coach Vinny Del Negro was monitoring them as recently as last Friday, where Noah missed some overtime action in a loss to the New Jersey Nets.  As Noah’s minutes have gone up, so has his production.  In six games this month, Noah is averaging 32.7 minutes, 13.3 points, 13.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.2 blocks.  In the Bulls recent win over the Toronto Raptors, which put them ahead of the Raptors for the final playoff seed, Noah had no restrictions on how many minutes he would play.  It was the first time the Bulls had not monitored his minutes since his return, and he had a beast of a game.  He nearly had a triple double, with 18 points, 19 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 block.  Noah has done a great job not only on the glass and scoring inside, but also distributing the ball and finding the open man out of the post.  He has had three or more assists in five of the past six games.  The Bulls are only 1/2 game up on the Raptors with two games left to play, so they still need to take care of business against the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Bobcats if they want to be playing in the postseason.  The Raptors have one game left against the New York Knicks, which they will likely win.  The Raptors also own the tiebreaker, so the Bulls will probably need to win their final two games if they want in on the playoffs.  That means the Bulls will need Noah to give them two more big games.

Joakim Noah and his injured foot (plantar fasciitis) have almost ruined the Chicago Bulls’ season this year and they are out of the top eight Eastern Conference playoff picture.  Noah recently missed 10 straight games for the Bulls, and they lost every single one of those games.  Noah returned to action on March 20th against the Philadelphia 76ers, and played in his fourth straight game Saturday night against the New Jersey Nets.  The Bulls have been really careful with Noah though, and he hasn’t played more than 13 minutes in any of those four games.  Noah, however, has been looking more and more healthy from game to game.  Saturday night against the Nets he looked liked the pre-injury Noah, grabbing rebounds aggressively and throwing down dunks on the opposing team’s big men.  He finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 block in just 13 minutes of action.  It was the Nets though, one of the worst teams in NBA history.  Still, it was a good sign for the Bulls to see Noah with an extra pep in his step and gaining more confidence with each extra minute.  Hopefully Noah can continue to progress and get healthy, because with him the Bulls are definitely a playoff team.

The Bulls have lost starting small forward Luol Deng for at least the next 2-3 weeks as he has aggravated his right calf injury. Deng played in 62 games (all starts) for the Bulls this season in which he is averaging 37.9 minutes, 18.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Rookie James Johnson will fill in for Deng while he is out. Johnson has played in 58 games (7 starts) for the Bulls this season and he is averaging 11.5 minutes, 3.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. This is some bad luck for the Bulls.

Not only were the Chicago Bulls blown out by the Orlando Magic last night, but they added insult to injury with Derrick Rose leaving the game with a sprained left wrist.  It happened late in the first quarter, when Rose fell hard on his wrist after colliding hard with Magic center Dwight Howard.  It was the second hard, injury-causing collision of the season that Rose has had with Howard.  Earlier in the season Rose went up hard against Howard and fell painfully hard on his hip, resulting him almost missing his first All-Star game.  Now Rose will be out against their upcoming game against the Miami Heat and possibly longer.  I’m not suggesting Howard is intentionally trying to injure Rose, but Rose’s teammates need to protect their young superstar and show their will be consequences for hard fouls on their number one guy.  Maybe a hard foul or two on Howard will make him think twice about going at Rose so aggressively.  The Bulls have now lost six straight games and it is looking more and more like they will miss the playoffs, especially with all the injuries they are dealing with.  Rose is out, Joakim Noah is out indefinitely (plantar fasciitis), Luol Deng (calf) has been missing some games, and Taj Gibson (plantar fasciitis) and Brad Miller (thumb, knee) are battling through injuries of their own.  It is unfortunate the Bulls are falling apart, because they have a good young team that surprised everyone last year with their exciting seven-game series with the Boston Celtics.

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.