Jan. 27--SAN FRANCISCO -- Jimmy Butler missed Tuesday's morning shootaround to illness, and coach Tom Thibodeau ruled Mike Dunleavy out with his right ankle injury as the Bulls prepared to face the Warriors.
Dunleavy said he participated in most of the morning session and feels that he is close to returning after missing 14 games. But Dunleavy acknowledged he has said so before and not returned.
The Warriors' backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson poses a stiff challenge regardless of whether the Bulls are at full strength.
"He's been playing great," Derrick Rose said of Curry. "The team itself, you can tell that they're having a lot of fun playing basketball by the way they're playing. The way he's playing is phenomenal. He's passing the ball great. Of course his scoring is always there. Just being a leader on the team and it's working for him. I love playing against him.
"They (the Warriors' backcourt) can hurt you in transition. They're playing great defense this year too. Their bigs are active down there. They're a really, really good team.
"It's fun competing man. It's fun playing basketball against great players. If anything, it's a great challenge for me. This is my first year back, have played 40-some games. I'm getting better every game."
