MINNEAPOLIS — Four games into this road trip, coach Fred Hoiberg was talking about building momentum and understanding the urgency.
By Sunday, he was simply looking for enough warm bodies to throw on the court.
The Bulls entered the finale of the six-game ice-show trip without Jimmy Butler (bruised right heel), Dwyane Wade (bruised right wrist), Nikola Mirotic (back spasms) and Paul Zipser (tendinitis in left ankle, illness).
Obviously, the Wade and Butler injuries were the most concerning, especially because they might drag on longer than first expected.
Butler has been dealing with the foot problem since the trip-opening victory in Oklahoma City and felt good enough to practice Thursday after missing three games. It might not have been the wisest decision because the pain returned.
Butler battled through the loss in Phoenix but admitted that the pain wasn’t subsiding.
The Bulls have to figure out if they should shut down Butler for the rest of the week leading into the All-Star break or let him play against the Raptors and Celtics.
“It’s really a day-to-day situation with the heel,’’ Hoiberg said. “Jimmy knows his body pretty well. He’s comfortable that if he sits these next two days, he’ll feel significantly better.’’
Hoiberg added that he didn’t think it was a mistake to play Butler against the Suns.
The idea of advising Butler to sit out the All-Star Game in New Orleans has not come up yet.
“I don’t want to sit down and not play [in the All-Star Game],’’ Butler said. “At times you gotta think about the body and what’s going on. Like I said, if I can suit up, I feel like I have to do that.’’
Wade won’t have that worry, but the injury concerns were serious enough for him to have an X-ray on Sunday and possibly an MRI exam Monday in Chicago.
He suffered the injury against the Suns when he fell and landed on both wrists.
“Obviously, I’ve played through a lot of things, so I can play through this if it’s manageable, but not [Sunday],’’ Wade said. “Can’t even bend it, so we’ll see.’’
In Rondo’s corner
Former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau knows Rajon Rondo from their days together on the 2008 NBA champion Celtics. He didn’t get caught up in Rondo’s Instagram firestorm last month, but Thibodeau has a pulse on what Rondo’s about.
“The public part is maybe not the best way to do it, but being truthful is the only way you can build trust,’’ Thibodeau said. “So I think that’s important. He’s always had great leadership ability. I don’t know what went on there.
“[Rondo’s] unique. He’s got a great mind. At that time, I thought he was fantastic with our team. At that time, we had a lot of personalities on our team, and it was positive. We probably wouldn’t have won a championship without that personality.’’
Lion’s den
Team president/COO Michael Reinsdorf, vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman were with the team for most of the road trip, but all three bailed by Sunday with the Bulls playing against Thibodeau’s Timberwolves.
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Email: jcowley@suntimes.com
