Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson Returning For Bulls
By Cody Westerlund--
(CBS) Losers of four in a row and having fallen to .500, the Bulls will get some reinforcements Saturday night when they host the Rockets.
All-Star wing and leading scorer Jimmy Butler will return to the lineup, coach Fred Hoiberg said, after missing the past 11 games with a left knee strain. The Bulls went 3-8 in Butler's absence.
Butler will guard Rockets star James Harden.
"Jimmy gives you the ability to guard guys one on one," Hoiberg said. "You're not having to scramble and put double-team schemes together, because of Jimmy's ability to move his feet and use his physicality."
Forward Taj Gibson will also return after missing Wednesday's loss against the Magic with a right hamstring strain.
"There's no time to worry about injuries right now," Gibson said.
At 30-30, the Bulls are in ninth place in the East, a half-game behind the eighth-place Pistons.
"Having some toughness, guarding somebody," Gibson said of the key to a turnaround for the Bulls. "Understand that there could be no tomorrow if we don't keep winning games.
"It comes down to will."
Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic is also "close" to a return, Hoiberg said. Mirotic has been out since a late January appendectomy was followed by a second surgery for complications. Mirotic has taken charges in practice, so he's been fully ramped up with the contact. He's currently ruled out for Saturday's game still, though, Hoiberg added.