Keeping Malcolm With Trouble in the Middle

With my repeated missed opportunities to write recently because of work and other obligations, I never had a chance to react to Malcolm Thomas' signing.  Now that's with the Bulls for the rest of the season, I thought I should take a short, but meaningful look at him.

As you can see by the above photo, Thomas played for the Bulls in the most recent summer league.  He started out the year however with the Golden State Warriors, playing in five games.  Since first signing with the Bulls March 19, he has appeared just twice and averaged two points.  It appears he was mainly signed to eat a few minutes here and there.  With Vladimir Radmanovic forced to play more with the recent rash of injuries that have hit this club, somebody on the bench has to serve his normal role.  And besides, Marquis Teague might have gotten lonely on the bench otherwise.  Don't worry, rook.  You'll have a chance at more minutes next season.

Speaking of injuries, here's an update on the most prominent one for the Bulls not related to Derrick Rose.  After returning to action Sunday against Detroit, Joakim Noah said he suffered a setback with his plantar fasciitis and received a cortisone shot for his foot.  He'll miss tonight's game against the Toronto Raptors and could sit the final six games of the regular season.  The only reason I could see him desperately wanting to suit up again would be if playoff seeding was that important to him.  My guess is probably not.  Even if they lose out, it's highly unlikely the Bulls will play Miami in the first round.  Besides that, they can win without Noah for the time being.

I would be more concerned about the absence of Luol Deng.  He sat on Sunday with an injured hip and the Bulls got punished by a Pistons team that hadn't beaten them in 18 straight games.  He won't play tonight either.  Neither will Taj Gibson or Rip Hamilton, though they could all be back soon.  If all goes according to plan, almost everyone will be close to 100 percent by this time next week, when only one game will be left on the schedule.  The Bulls are right where they belong in the playoff hunt.  Now, it's just a matter of who's going to have home-court advantage.  Really though, the Bulls have proven they can stick with anybody in the East, so opponent is not really an issue.  They just beat Brooklyn on their home floor in the most recent example.  If they slip to the seventh seed and New York holds onto the second, that would still be a fun series.  They won both games at Madison Square Garden this year, so don't be shocked if an upset brews.  Whatever happens, this last week is sure to entertain.

Although I'm not working tonight, I likely won't be able to recap tonight's Raptors game as I have another obligation.  Still, I will use this opportunity to say that like last year, I will have a post after every Bulls playoff game.  Some will be the same night, others the next day.  Regardless, the playoffs define the whole season, so I intend to chronicle every bit of it.  I can afford to miss a good chunk of regular-season contests, but it's win or go home after mid-April.  That's when the best is really on hand.