The Chicago Bulls have been dealing with an injury to Derrick Rose all season and although he said he could return before the end of the playoffs, the team will likely be without both Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich in Game 1 against the Miami Heat on Monday night.
According to ESPN.com, Deng will be out officially while dealing with the effects of a spinal tap, while Hinrich may make it into the lineup. Coach Tom Thibodeau was declared out for Game 1, but the points guard said that he could possibly return by the end of the series. The Heat looked dominant in the first series against the Heat while sweeping 4-0 and winning by double digits each time and LeBron James will be motivated after winning this fourth MVP award in his career and he was one vote shy of a unanimous decision.
The Bulls are dealing with a number of injuries, including to Joakim Noah, and many in the media have criticized Rose for not playing while his teammates are struggling to get on the court despite being hurt as well. Rose has been able to practice and scrimmage with his team, but he feels not quite ready to return to the court yet.
The Heat know that Rose could potentially return and Miami is ready to play against the Bulls, as Chicago was the team that snapped their 27-game wining streak.
"It's definitely hard but I know that this will be over with pretty soon. Who knows when it's going to stop but I can't just get down on myself," Rose said Monday.
