Thomas will undergo surgery on Saturday and is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks.

The forward missed two days with a nasty case of the flu earlier in the week before returning in a limited role Thursday at Cleveland. Then on Friday, Thomas suffered an injury to his left arm in a weight lifting accident during practice at the Berto Center.

The severity of the injury is not known yet, but Thomas was taken to a local hospital for x-rays. The results of those x-rays and his status for Saturday night's game against the Charlotte Bobcats is unclear at this point.

"It's pretty sore," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "I don't know how bad it is. He went to get an x-ray. Let's see how it is. I want to see how he is, what the doctor says.

"I think he was doing some type of pull up or something and kind of injured his arm. It's just unfortunate."

"I want to see him warm up before deciding," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said.

Thomas said he was much better today, but said was as sick as he's ever been a couple of days ago. He said he decided to fly to Cleveland after being examined by a Bulls physician.

"I went to see Dr. [Kathy] Weber," Thomas said. "She released me. She told me I was cool."

If Thomas does play, he'll come off the bench. Rookie Taj Gibson will start at power forward.

"I'm here to support the team, however it is," Thomas said. "Cheer, play, whatever. That's what I'm here for."

I have to say I was surprised when I boarded the aircraft and saw Thomas sitting in first class.

He indicated he was feeling better and it appears he will try to play tonight when the Bulls play the Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.

Our flight landed at 3:30 p.m., so he won't have much time to rest at the team hotel before heading to the arena.

He won't accompany the team when it departs for Cleveland this afternoon. Although it seems highly unlikely, there's a remote chance he could travel on his own on Thursday and join the team in time for the game with the Cavaliers.

"He's at home," coach Vinny Del Negro said of Thomas. "He'll see the doctor today and tomorrow and then we'll reevaluate and see if he can fly to Cleveland. But he's pretty sick still. He's got the flu, sore throat, the whole thing."

Besides allowing him to get rest, Thomas was sent home both days so he wouldn't infect anyone else on the team.

"Exactly," Del Negro said. "That's why he's not here."

Thomas was sent home before the morning shootaround at the Berto Center after seeing trainer Fred Tedeschi and was examined by a team doctor in the afternoon. He remained at home resting and didn't make the trip to the United Center.

Rookie Taj Gibson will start at power forward.

Guard Jannero Pargo will suit up, but he's still bothered by a sore back and coach Vinny Del Negro may try to avoid using him.

Although there is still a chance Thomas could play tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks at the United Center, coach Vinny Del Negro said rookie Taj Gibson will start at power forward regardless.

Thomas wasn't at the Berto Center when the Bulls' shootaround ended, but Del Negro said Thomas saw trainer Fred Tedeschi when he arrived before the shootaround began and was sent home.

"[Thomas] wasn't feeling very well this morning, Fred said," Del Negro said. "We'll see how he feels tonight."

"You have to get stops, you have to get boards, you have to get it out quicker even if they do score and Derrick [Rose] has to play with more thrust and pace," Del Negro said. "Kirk [Hinrich] does that a little bit better.

"We've talked about. We want to be smart, but we also want to push it up, see what we can get and use Derrick's athletic ability."

Rose is working his way back from an ankle injury that caused him to miss much of the preseason and has been somewhat cautious in the first two games.

"I think it's early in the year, he missed a lot of training camp and he's not in great condition right now, so I think he's just feeling his way through a little bit," Del Negro said of Rose. "We've had two tough opponents the first two games. This one's not an easy one by any stretch. We're gonna have to play well [and] Derrick's gonna have to pick his game up like everyone."

"It's early in the season," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We were on our heels, we weren't physical enough -- the same thing I said last night after the game. We just need to continually improve every day.

"Playing San Antonio and Boston back to back, you're hard pressed to start off any tougher than that. We're 1-1 going into tomorrow against Miami. We have to get back to where we were defensively - we slipped a little last night - and we have to start making some shots."

Once the film session ended, Del Negro led the players through a like workout at a local college in Boston before the team departed for Miami, where they face the Heat Sunday night.

The coach's message to the players was simple: Don't make too much of the game, but don't repeat that effort.

Derrick Rose was no worse for wear after playing 33 minutes Thursday night and coach Vinny Del Negro planned to use him in a similar manner against the Celtics.

"Let's see how he feels," Del Negro said. "I wanted to keep him around 30 minutes [Thursday] and he got 33. I'd like keep him around 30, but let's see how the flow of the game goes and see how he feels.

"As he gets loose, he feels good. He got a little fatigued at the end I thought, but after not playing for a while he had a solid game for us."

Del Negro on the Celtics:

"They've got their enforcer back in Kevin Garnett, and they added Rasheed [Wallace] and Marquis Daniels, two veteran pros. They cause a lot of problems.
It's a good test for us. It's early in the season - only our second game - but it'll a good test for us, a good barometer. I expect their guys to come out and play hard and get after it."

Rose missed his only shot, but had a highlight moment when he blocked a shot by San Antonio's Richard Jefferson on the fast break two minutes into the game.

"We'll try to limit his minutes a little bit," coach Vinny Del Negro said of Rose. "I want to see how he reacts. He's only had about three solid days of practice. It feels a little bit better every day, which is a good sign.

"We don't want a setback there. It's a long season, we'll be smart about it and look at the big picture and try to limit his minutes as best I can."

Rose missed his only shot, but had a highlight moment when he blocked a shot by San Antonio's Richard Jefferson on the fast break two minutes into the game.

"We'll try to limit his minutes a little bit," coach Vinny Del Negro said of Rose. "I want to see how he reacts. He's only had about three solid days of practice. It feels a little bit better every day, which is a good sign.

"We don't want a setback there. It's a long season, we'll be smart about it and look at the big picture and try to limit his minutes as best I can."

Rose's minutes will be monitored because he is still working his way back from an ankle injury, but when asked if the point guard will be limited to 20 to 25 minutes, coach Vinny Del Negro said following this morning's shootaround, "Hopefully, more."

Because of Rose's injury, the Bulls had to scramble this week to get prepared.

"You always wish you had a little more time, but I think the guys are ready to go," Del Negro. "They're sick of beating up each other in practice. We've had a few good days of practice, which is good, and with the schedule we have to be ready to roll. We have a tough opening stretch and we have to be ready."

My numbers: 45 wins, fifth in the East.

Leave a comment below with your predictions.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER -- LeBron James, Cavaliers. He's still getting better, and that's scary.

COACH OF THE YEAR -- Phil Jackson, Lakers. It's absurd that's he's won this award only one time previously.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR -- Tyreke Evans, Kings. Would have gone with Blake Griffin before learning he will be sidelined six weeks with a stress fracture of the patella. Maybe the Clippers are cursed.

SIXTH MAN -- Manu Ginobili, Spurs. If he's healthy, he'll have a big year.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER -- Dwight Howard, Magic. Controls the paint and is a rebounding machine.

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS -- Celtics over Cavaliers.

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS -- Lakers over Spurs.

NBA FINALS -- Lakers over Celtics.

Let us know what you think.