Jan. 10--WASHINGTON -- When Mike Dunleavy jammed his right ankle against the Nuggets on Jan. 1, he thought he might return in that game. The veteran forward, who had played 115 straight games with the Bulls, thought that at worst he would be back for the next game on Jan. 3.
Instead, Dunleavy is headed for an MRI exam on Saturday.
"I can't really run or anything," Dunleavy said before missing his fourth game.
More troubling, Dunleavy had expressed optimism about the injury as recently as Wednesday.
"We're sort of stuck right now," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "And he's huge to our team. He provides spacing with his shooting. The team functions extremely well with him on the floor. He probably gets overlooked some and for his team defense also."
Dunleavy's injury has forced Kirk Hinrich into the starting lineup and Jimmy Butler to small forward. It also created opportunity for rookie Nikola Mirotic to move from power to small forward.
However, Thibodeau didn't sound like he loved that experiment anymore.
"Niko has done a good job, but it's really taken his advantage away offensively," Thibodeau said. "He has struggled shooting at small forward. At power forward, he has a distinct advantage. I probably slowed him down some the last 10 games moving him to small forward. That second group when he was at the power forward played very well together. He's a good fit."
Tour time: The Bulls informally toured the White House on Thursday night. Unlike on their February 2009 visit, they weren't invited guests of President Barack Obama this time.
There was, however, a rumor that President Obama might have some time for them, which is why several players who hadn't planned on going attended. Originally, just a handful of players who hadn't visited the building previously planned to attend.
"It's like a museum," rookie Doug McDermott said. "I was shocked anyone lived there. It's spotless."
Derrick Rose was the only player who didn't attend, opting for treatment. This created a stir on social media. Rose attended in 2009 and also has played pickup basketball with Obama at the White House.
"This is a business trip, and I took it that way," Rose said. "Don't get me wrong, any visit to the White House is great. But I was just resting, getting off my feet."
