Bulls don't believe Deng will require surgery

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Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and John Lucas III are all availablethe former pair were in the starting lineupfor the Bulls as they host the Nets. Taj Gibson is inactive Monday night and Luol Deng wont play either, though his situation is more complex.

Hes still consulting some doctors. Basically, an injured wrist and hes mapping out the course he wants to take, Thibodeau said of his starting small forward, who injured his left wrist in the fourth quarter of the Bulls home win Saturday over the Bobcats. Theres people that he wants to talk to. Hes gone down this road with an injured wrist before, so my guess would be it would be day-to-day.

Hes still gathering the information, Thibodeau continued about Deng, who had an MRI exam Sunday, though the results were apparently unavailable Monday. Lus an old-school guy. He came in, he goes, My wrist is injured. He said, I think Ill be fine. He said, Ive got a couple more doctors I want to talk to, and were going to go from there, so Im going to honor his request. He said hes able to move it and hes feeling better today, and he feels like itll be day-to-day. Im good with that.

Deng exited the game Saturday after suffering the injury, but re-entered the contest and was able to finish, though he had an ice pack on his wrist afterwards. Deng previously injured his right wrist earlier in his career and although the initial diagnosis for the injury Saturday was a sprain, the cautious approach raises the possibility that it could be more serious and require surgery, which would sideline him for more than the day-to-day timeline Thibodeau referenced.

I dont want to speak prematurely. I dont think hell need surgery, but again, theres more doctors that he has to talk to, so Im going to honor his request and well leave it at that, said Thibodeau, who started Ronnie Brewer in place of Deng. The team is very much involved. Its our doctors, in conjunction with some experts that he wants to talk to.

Well know more as he gets more information and again, he said it was a lot better today than it was yesterday, so thats what were going to go with, he added. You cant say enough about what he brings to our team, in all areas. You start with his leadership and toughness and the fact that hes our best defender, guards multiple positions, he plays to win, he does whatever you ask him to do, sets a great example in practice every day. So, you cant really say enough about him and hes having an All-Star type year.

That being said, were fortunate in the sense that we have great depth, so guys behind himRonnie will start tonight with Lu out. We have Kyle Korver, we have Jimmy Butler, weve got Scal Brian Scalabrine. Weve got more than enough to win with, so we feel good about that.

Thibodeau was more definitive about Roses status.

Said Thibodeau: He says hes fine. The thing is, all the swelling is out of his toe, so hes moving fine. The thing is, in this league, youre going to get bumped and bruised. If you can play, you play and if you cant, you sit out. So, hes shown he has the ability to play through things. Were certainly not going to risk further injury with him. Were confident that hes ready to go.

Meanwhile, however, the coach will rely on his squads depth to see it through Dengs absence, whether prolonged or brief.

Well see how it unfolds. I think Jimmys done a good job. The one thing that we do have is, again, we have Kyle, we have RipRips getting into better shape now, so we can extend his minutesScalabrine can also play three and four, Jimmy can also three and four, and he can also play the two, so we feel good about that, he said. Rip has shown, throughout his career, hes guarded one through three.

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