Inside the Bulls

INDIANAPOLIS -- After intimating that Chris Richard might continue to take some of Tyrus Thomas' minutes on Monday, coach Vinny Del Negro said an hour before tip-off that Thomas will be the first big man off the bench tonight when the Bulls play the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse.

"Tyrus and John [Salmons] usually come in about the five- or six-minute mark of the first quarter; that won't change," Del Negro said. "And then we'll get Chris in there to give Brad [Miller] a little bit of a rest depending on matchups.

"A lot of times now they've been going small with [Troy] Murphy at the five and they kind of play four other smalls. We'll just see how the matchups go and where we feel we can exploit, whether we want to stay big when they go small or maybe we'll go small."

After serving his one-game suspension for a profanity-laced tirade against coach Vinny Del Negro, Tyrus Thomas was back on the practice court Monday and will be back in the rotation when the Bulls play the Indiana Pacers Tuesday night in Indianapolis.

Thomas declined to speak with the media following practice. Del Negro said the incident is in the past and Thomas is back in his good graces.

"We've got to move on from there," Del Negro said. "We've got a game tomorrow night; let's focus in on that. For me, that stuff's in the past."

Said point guard Derrick Rose: "He apologized right after that happened, just saying he was sorry and stuff like that, so we got that out the way. Now, we're focused on just winning games. That was in the past."

Luol Deng didn't practice with a right shoulder issue, but is expected to play against the Pacers.

ATLANTA -- Now that Joakim Noah is out at least through the All-Star break, the Bulls officially began trying to make up for the loss of their starting center (and arguably their second most-important player) at this morning's shootaround at Philips Arena.

"He's been struggling with it for a while, since really the road trip," coach Vinny Del Negro said of Noah. "He hasn't been the same the last few games. We just felt with the All-Star break and things coming, it was best to get him some rest and treatment.

"But it's a big loss for us. Jo's had a tremendous year for us - he's second in the league in rebounding - so we're gonna have to gang rebound. Everybody's gonna have to chip in and step up a little bit. Tonight's a tough matchup for us [against the Atlanta Hawks], not only with their talent but their athleticism and size up front."

Brad Miller, who's playing with a sore left knee, will start in Noah's place. Despite Miller's health concerns, Del Negro said the veteran center won't have a minutes limit.

"We'll just see how he goes, how he's feeling," Del Negro said. "His knee's still a little bit swollen. Sometimes once he gets going it's better to let him play because once he sits down it stiffens up on him.

"We'll just monitor that, see how he feels, but we need him to step up and play well for us."

To shore up their frontcourt depth, the Bulls signed center/forward Chris Richard, who was with them in the preseason. Richard is expected to be in uniform tonight.

The Bulls announced Thursday night that center Joakim Noah -- who is suffering from plantar fasciitis of the left foot -- will be shut down at least through the All-Star break.

Noah was in Atlanta with the Bulls on Thursday and attended the team's practice session at Georgia Tech -- watching from the sidelines -- but he was scheduled to return to Chicago on Friday for treatment.

"After visiting with Joakim and our medical staff, we all agreed that this was the best course of action," general manager Gar Forman said.

After Noah struggled up and down the court Wednesday night in Philadelphia, he was asked if he would be better off sitting out for a while.

"I don't know," he said. "We don't have a lot of depth at the five [center] besides me and Brad [Miller]. I know Brad is playing hurt as well. Whatever the coaches want at the end of the day. I'm gonna go out there and suit up until they tell me I'm hurting the team.

"I want to be out there and I want to help the team as much as possible, so I'm not gonna be the one to say I'm gonna sit out a game. The only reason I did that in Houston is I literally couldn't play."

ATLANTA -- The Bulls are hopeful that Joakim Noah can keep playing despite suffering from plantar fasciitis of the left foot. But coach Vinny Del Negro knows the organization might be forced to sit the 6-11 center down if he continues to be limited last he's been the previous two games.

"Yeah, absolutely," Del Negro said Thursday. "We're just going to try to see what we can get out of him until he can get some rest at the All-Star break. We'll monitor it every day. Some days, you feel better than others with it. We'll use him as much as he can move."

The problem is the only cure for plantar fasciitis is extended rest -- at least six weeks -- and that's not an option right now.

"If you shut him down for a week, that doesn't guarantee he will feel better," Noah said. "That's not how that condition works. You don't know. I had it for two years when I played."

Contrary to what you may have read a few weeks ago in an ESPN.com report, TNT analyst Doug Collins never was contacted by the Bulls about replacing Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro.

But Collins is close with Del Negro, vice president John Paxson and chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, so he's as plugged in as anyone in the media concerning the Bulls. I had a chance recently to speak briefly with Collins and he had a couple of interesting comments:

On Derrick Rose and his slow start:

"Derrick Rose did tweak his ankle [in training camp], but I personally don't think he came into camp in great shape. I think he's learned a valuable lesson this year about the importance of the offseason and preparing himself, especially when you're coming off the rookie of the year and what he did."

On the players being too satisfied with their playoff lost to the Boston Celtics last season:

"I remember talking to Jerry Reinsdorf in the summer last year. He was very happy with the way the team competed and everything, but he said, 'You know, I had to let the team know, "The fans here love you so much, don't forget that you lost that series. You didn't win it, you lost it." So we've got places to go; we have to get better.'"

The Philadelphia 76ers announced that guard Allen Iverson will not play tonight against the Bulls because one of his children is ill.

Iverson was excused from practice on Tuesday to deal with the issue. He is expected to play Friday at New Orleans. He has averaged 14.4 points in 25 games since he returned to the Sixers in December.

Center Joakim Noah and forward Taj Gibson (both suffering from plantar fasciitis) didn't practice again Monday, but both are expected to be in the starting lineup when the Bulls host the Los Angeles Clippers Tuesday at the United Center.

Center Brad Miller (sore knee) did return to practice on Monday after sitting out Sunday.

After taking Saturday off, the Bulls returned to the Berto Center on Sunday for the first time since Jan. 16, but Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Brad Miller sat out the practice session.

Noah and Gibson continue to deal with plantar fasciitis, while Miller has a sore knee. All three are expected to play Tuesday when the Bulls play the Los Angeles Clippers at the United Center.

Devin Brown will face his old team tonight when the Bulls visit the New Orleans Hornets, but Brown probably will have to wait to get revenge on his former team.

Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro wants to avoid using Brown again because the Bulls haven't had the chance to hold a legitimate practice since the veteran guard was acquired on Monday.

"If I have to, I'll use him," Del Negro said. "But we'll stay with the rotation right now. We haven't had a chance to really practice with our schedule. After tonight's game, we get home for a couple of days and we can get some practice under our belts.

"Obviously, he's familiar with this team. If there's some foul trouble and I need to use him, I will. Otherwise I'll go with how we've been going."