Feb. 12--An MRI exam on Jimmy Butler's right shoulder confirmed a strain, and the Bulls listed their newest All-Star as questionable for Thursday's high-profile matchup against the Cavaliers.
No eye exam is needed to know that defending LeBron James is difficult even with Butler, the Bulls' best perimeter defender.
"Next guy get in and get it done," coach Tom Thibodeau said of the possibility of Butler sitting. "LeBron is going to put pressure on whoever guards him. You don't guard a guy like that individually. We have to guard him with the team. We have a lot of guys who are hopefully prepared to do it."
Thibodeau's rare qualifier of "hopefully," rather than his typically resolute stance, is reflective of the Bulls' perpetually fragile health. Kirk Hinrich will miss his third straight game with turf toe, and Butler, still very sore Wednesday, will be limited at best and more likely idle.
At least Mike Dunleavy cruised through the Bulls' brief practice without issue and said after his Tuesday return from a 19-game absence that he's confident his right ankle injury is behind him.
"We've been banged up pretty much all year, and that's probably affected our consistency," Pau Gasol said. "We've got to stay positive and hope we can get everybody healthy, especially down the stretch."
But first, a battle of the teams many predicted to meet in the Eastern Conference finals will transpire. The Cavaliers come in rolling, having won 13 of 14 entering their home game Wednesday against the Heat.
The Bulls have yet to face the Cavaliers at full strength this season, playing without Butler in an overtime loss in the home opener in October and losing on the road without Dunleavy and Joakim Noah last month.
And the Cavaliers have gotten better. Of their three prominent in-season acquisitions, Iman Shumpert missed the Jan. 19 meeting because of an injury, while J.R. Smith and Timofey Mozgov were still getting acclimated. That didn't stop Mozgov from bullying Gasol for 15 points and 15 rebounds and Smith from sinking six 3-pointers en route to 20 points.
"Those were three very good acquisitions," Gasol said. "It obviously made them better and made them more dangerous. They're playing well. They have a lot of threats out there. We've just got to play them tough. We know who they are and what they do."
Gasol quickly and emphatically shot down the theory that Thursday is just another game, pointing to the significance of the opponent and the fact the Bulls are 0-2 in the season series. It's also a unique game in the sense it's the only one scheduled before the All-Star break, so the entire league can be watching.
Not surprisingly, Thibodeau downplayed that aspect.
"You look forward to it because of who you're playing," he said. "But it's the next game. It'll be a great test. They're playing as well as anyone in the league. I want to see where we are.
"You like to have anytime, anywhere, guys who are ready to go no matter who it's against or where you are. It shouldn't take a game like that to get you excited. You should be prepared every game."
kcjohnson@tribpub.com
