After initially saying he would play tonight against the Charlotte Bobcats, Luol Deng was a late scratch with a bruised right tibia. Tim Thomas also is out with a hyper-extended left knee. Both are listed as day-to-day.

For several hours Saturday night into Sunday morning, the Bulls feared that Deng was lost for the rest of the season with a stress fracture of the right tibia. But an MRI revealed that the injury was only a bruise.

John Salmons will start at small forward in Deng's absence.