A little nicked for New York
BULLS | Deng 'a little bit better,' but it's unclear if he or Nocioni will play
January 8, 2008
BY BRIAN HANLEY
The Bulls have played six games in the two weeks since Jim Boylan took over as head coach, including three in four days last week. So after giving the team Sunday off, Boylan was looking forward to some serious practice time Monday.
But when he arrived at the Berto Center in the morning, Boylan found that Luol Deng was still out with Achilles tendinitis, Ben Gordon had a bruised left knee from the victory over Sacramento on Saturday, Andres Nocioni had a fever and Ben Wallace, who has battled back and foot pain, was out.
''This always happens,'' Boylan said. ''You try to prepare. You have great thoughts. You're going to cover this and that. You're going to get everything done.
''Then you get here, [and] your great plan all of a sudden becomes a little patchwork you've got to do. But the practice we had was good. The guys worked hard, and we got a couple things accomplished.''
Deng, who missed the game against the Kings, did a little running but was unsure if he would play tonight against the New York Knicks.
''I feel a little bit better,'' said Deng, the team's No. 2 scorer with 17.9 points per game. ''It's just pain that's there; it's not like it comes and goes. If I'm playing, it's going to feel tight. The more I rest, it should get a lot better. We just have to keep treating it. We'll see how it feels [today].''
Boylan would not say what his starting lineup would be if both Deng and Nocioni are out tonight. Nocioni started in place of Deng on Saturday and scored 26 points.
''I'll have to cross that bridge when I get to it,'' he said.
