Court Report: Luol Deng’s wrist still hurts, and he’ll still play ()

Luol Deng made one of nine shots in Thursday's 99-94 loss to the Magic, dropping his shooting percentage over the past four games to 34 percent. Deng admitted after that game that the pain level in his left wrist has "escalated" and that he's been trying to avoid using it when possible in recent games. But he's already committed himself to playing through the injury and neither he ("I know I can play with it"), Tom Thibodeau ("He has the capability of playing well when he's not shooting well"), nor Derrick Rose ("I know he should be able to play through it") are entertaining thoughts of his getting some down time. The Bulls are 14-3 since Deng returned from missing six games following the injury, and he's averaged 39 minutes, 14.7 points on 40-percent shooting, 2.2 threes (on whopping 48-percent shooting), 5.8 boards, 4 assists, and 2.1 turnovers. • Kyle Lowry's short-term availability is in quesion after he checked himself into a hospital on Friday for tests on abdominal distress and a fever, and he also is dealing with a sore groin muscle. Initial diagnostic tests were negative, as were tests on his groin, but he at least seems unlikely to play on Saturday at this point. The Rockets play four games over the next five days [ schedule ], and Goran Dragic would be in line for big minutes whenever Lowry sits. Dragic is also dealing with a foot injury of his own, but it's not considered serious. Jonny Flynn is the third point guard, but he's totaled 81 minutes on the season and has not played since January 28.