By K.C. Johnson
Hand specialists confirmed Monday that Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich has a sprained left thumb. The Bulls announced that Hinrich is expected to miss 1-2 weeks.
"Knowing Kirk, he'll be back sooner than that," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "But we want to be smart about it and protect him as best we can. It's a long season."
That leaves Jannero Pargo and Lindsey Hunter as the Bulls' only backup guards, although Del Negro wouldn't say whether management has plans to sign somebody off the scrap heap. Creative lineups featuring Luol Deng or James Johnson at shooting guard might have to happen.
"I'm always trying to be creative," Del Negro said. "You have to go with the guys who are healthy. You might see some different lineups depending on foul trouble and matchups."
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Truthfully, i didn't even realize Hinrich wasn't playing. Other than Rose, i'm not sure there's a player on this team which is that noticeable, whenever they're not in the lineup. And the only reason Rose is noticed so much, is fans keep waiting to see if this might be the game he finally shows himself to be worthy of having been the #1 pick.
Did he really say "Kirk" and not "Kurt"? At least that is one way he is definitely improving as a coach; he pronounces the names of his players better. Now if he could just open things up for Rose, the Bulls might win another game.