Feb. 15--Now it gets serious.
The Bulls will gather for a Tuesday evening practice in advance of their Thursday road game against the Cavaliers on TNT, followed by a home game against the Raptors in a tough back-to-back.
Yes, the Bulls have gone 2-0 against both teams, but they will be without Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah and Nikola Mirotic. And they could be without Taj Gibson, who left the last game before the All-Star break with a strained left foot that Gibson said stemmed from complications from offseason ankle surgery.
Surely, the Bulls hope Derrick Rose makes it back on time from watching college basketball at Arizona, where he was spotted over the weekend.
Rose, whose travel issues caused him to miss the first post-break practice last year, will be leaned on heavily along with All-Star Pau Gasol as the short-handed Bulls try to extract themselves from a hole caused by 13 losses in 18 games.
Like defense in Sunday's sham of an All-Star Game, it won't be an easy task.
"Everyone's responsibility goes up when big players are out," Gasol said. "It starts with the main players, with Derrick and me. We have to make sure we set the pace and the tone for the rest of the guys to follow.
"All the guys available have to approach the situation knowing that they're going to have an opportunity. They're going to have significant minutes and they have to produce. Everyone can do certain things. At least do them as well as you can, see if we can develop some rhythm and better chemistry with everyone on the floor. Utilize the two days of practice we have before the Cleveland game to build how we want to play the next few games.
"And when we get guys back, we will welcome them with big arms."
That could be a while. Butler made clear he will listen to his body rather than the three- to four-week timeline estimated for his return from a strained left knee. Mirotic posted a video via social media of him beginning his rehab from two surgeries -- an appendectomy and hematoma removal after complications -- but he lost 15 pounds and game conditioning.
And Gibson's injury led to a hospital visit the day after the Bulls' last game, which saw them allow a seventh straight opponent to score 100 or more points. Forgive LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love if they're licking their chops watching film of recent Bulls defensive performances.
"Emotionally, it has been tough," Gasol said of the injuries and losses. "We've taken some hits the last couple of weeks. It's been a challenge, but this break should help us be refreshed mentally and emotionally and approach this next stretch fully energized."
With 30 games remaining, the Bulls sit seventh in the Eastern Conference. They're one game ahead of the ninth-place Pistons and 31/2 games behind the third-place Celtics in the turbulent East.
Their shaky play on multiple levels has inspired little confidence. Now the widespread injuries have thrust players into roles for which they're not fully prepared, causing inconsistent results. Even Cameron Bairstow has been drawing rotation minutes and a recent start in Denver.
"I don't like not playing," Butler said. "I damn sure don't like losing. I don't think anybody on our roster does. We've got a great group of guys. When we all buy into it, we've proven we can beat good teams. It's all on the defensive end. If we can get back to guarding the way we're capable of, we'll win games."
Defense was nowhere to be found during All-Star weekend. That, and plenty else, will need to be apparent and prevalent as the Bulls' stretch run begins.
kcjohnson@tribpub.com
