After remaining quiet at the trade deadline outside of sending Kirk Hinrich to the Atlanta Hawks, the Chicago Bulls are hoping their current roster is enough to get them to the playoffs and contend in the Eastern Conference. However, several pieces of that roster are currently missing thanks to injuries. Both Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic continue to sit out and their returns to the court are uncertain right now.
According to KC Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, Butler is still another two or three weeks away from getting on the court following a knee injury. Butler told the media that he was thankful the knee injury was not as bad as he thought it was when he originally got hurt. The swingman was quick to say that he plans on listening to his body and the training staff in regards to getting healthy again and he will not rush a return to the court.
"If I can play, I play. That's what the fans come to see. That's what my teammates and organization expect from me," Butler said, via the Chicago Tribune. "I get hit in the knees all the time. I just think my legs got tight. I had a lot of things that were nagging anyway. Eventually, it's going to happen. But we'll get it right."
With Butler out, Doug McDermott is seeing extended playing time on the court. The Bulls are reaping the benefits of it as the shooting guard had a career-high 30 points in the win over the Toronto Raptors. Until Butler is healthy, McDermott along with an improving Mike Dunleavy will be critical for the Bulls in order to remain in contention for the playoffs. Head coach Fred Hoiberg was quick to stress his confidence in the players.
"I told him how much I believe in him," Hoiberg said, via the Chicago Tribune. "I told him to step up and shoot those shots with confidence...We really needed this. That's the understatement of the year."
Mirotic is another player that Bulls need back quickly. With Joakim Noah out for the year, the Bulls need Mirotic to get healthy and come back. The forward underwent a second surgery following an appendectomy and told the media he is not certain what he can get back on the court. Hoiberg told the media that he felt Mirotic was getting better, but he is still not able to run and do much physical work right now. They also need the forward to gain some weight after getting thin following the surgery.
"Niko, he's doing much better,'' Hoiberg said, via the Chicago Sun Times. "He's out there shooting now. He's still not able to do much running, he's still got pain in that abdomen. Hopefully that will progress as we move on this week. He's still doing pool work as of right now, and again, hopefully that's the next step forward for Niko is getting him out there on the floor and doing running, conditioning."
