LOS ANGELES — John Salmons has rejoined the Bulls, but skipped the morning shootaround to sleep at the team hotel. Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng are feeling better. And Brad Miller also missed the shootaround and, like Salmons, will be a gametime decision.
That’s the summary of Flu Fest 2010 as the bug is making its way through the Bulls on the front end of a season-high, seven-game trip.
Salmons and assistant athletic trainer Jeff Tanaka arrived here Tuesday night after Salmons stayed overnight Monday at an Oakland hospital with the flu.
“He’s sick and trying to get his energy back,” coach Vinny Del Negro said. “We’re trying to get some food in him. He was sleeping when we left. We’ll see how he feels at the game. If he feels strong enough, we’ll try to get him some minutes.”
But Del Negro conceded even if Salmons does play, his minutes likely would be reduced.
Miller is the latest casualty with the virus, which claimed Kirk Hinrich in Monday’s loss at Golden State. Hinrich said at the team shootaround that he still feels light after losing about 10 pounds but that his energy is slowly returning.
“It’s tough,” Del Negro said. “You can’t control that stuff. You just have to go with the guys who are healthy and try to find a way on the road. We need much better effort than we had at Golden State.”
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