Joakim Noah will begin traveling with the Bulls after having the cast removed from his right hand on Monday.

Tom Thibodeau expects Noah to begin non-contact drills on Tuesday.

The center could be ready to return shortly after the All-Star break.

"With Jo, the next step is getting the cast off, which is going to happen today so you feel good about that," Thibodeau said. "And then he's going to have to work on basketball stuff. His timing, his touch, strengthening his hand.

"So he'll start the non-contact part of practice, and from there once he clears that he can practice with contact. And once he practices with contact then he'll be able to play. He's still pretty much on schedule. He's probably, the way we're looking at it right now, right after the All-Star break."

The Mavericks will leave for an East Coast road trip on Tuesday, but Peja Stojakovic and Rodrigue Beaubois won't travel with them.

Beaubois hasn't played all season as he recovers from offseason surgery for a broken foot. He will ramp up his individual workouts with team trainers.

"He's progressing, for sure," coach Rick Carlisle said of Beaubois. "The hope is when we get back from the trip that he'll be in a position maybe to get into some heightened activity. We'll have to see what's what when we get to that point."

Stojakovic's status remains uncertain, but Carlisle said the knee issue that has kept him out of action since Nov. 26 is doing well.

"He's going through training camp right now. That's the way we're looking at it," Carlisle said. "We could throw him into the games but, again, in our estimation it wouldn't be the right move for him or for us. The knee is doing well. It's conditioning, it's strength, it's integration to some degree.

"For him, he can get a lot of his rhythm by doing some of these individual workouts and working on the things we do offensively and defensively. Right now, we just feel this is the right thing."

Amar'e Stoudemire walked with a noticeable limp after New York's win over Detroit on Sunday night.

Both his knees were wrapped in ice, but he insisted that there was no reason to worry.

"I'll be alright," Stoudemire said. "I feel pretty good. I'll be ready to go. No worries."

He appeared to bang knees with Detroit's Ben Gordon in the fourth quarter, causing him to hobble up-and-down the court momentarily.

"We banged knees. I think it was Ben Gordon and I," Stoudemire said. "I think he reached in and we just banged knees."

Stoudemire has had microfracture surgery on both knees in the past.

Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic will miss Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Hornets at US Airways Center, the team announced.

Dragic received nine stitches in his left foot after stepping on glass at his home Saturday.

Miami had their Big Three back in action against Oklahoma City on Sunday afternoon.

Chris Bosh has missed the last four games with an ankle sprain. He made five of his first six shots and scored 12 early points against the Thunder.

Dwyane Wade had an MRI on his wrist that showed no serious damage on Saturday. He started hot as well, making seven of his first nine shots for 16 points.

The Knicks are hopeful that Amar'e Stoudemire will play against the Pistons despite a sprained knee.

New York has listed Stoudemire as questionable for Sunday's home game.

Stoudemire was receiving treatment Saturday and was not made available to the media.

"I asked if he could go tomorrow and he said, 'Yeah,' " coach Mike D'Antoni said following the team's one-hour practice. "So we'll see. He said it was better than what he thought it would be."

The Knicks are expected to be cautious with Stoudemire, who has had surgery on both knees in the past.

Hornets coach Monty Williams says Chris Paul plays through pain on a nightly basis.

"He hates me talking about it, but he plays through pain," Williams said. "I look at him like I do Tim [Duncan]. Those guys play through pain that most guys would sit out with."

Paul is averaging a career-low 35.1 minutes per game this season, but highs in three-point percentage (.462) and free-throw percentage (.893) and leads the league in steals per game (2.6).

"I'm just fortunate to be able to play every night," Paul said.

Taj Gibson sprained his right ankle in Chicago's win over Indiana on Saturday night.

X-rays taken after the game were negative, but Gibson said he could barely put any weight on the ankle.

Replays appeared to show Gibson getting tangled up with the foot of teammate Ronnie Brewer, but the forward isn't sure what happened.

"I didn't remember hitting anybody," Gibson said. "I just remember my foot giving. It twisted real bad."

Gibson is averaging 7.4 points and 5.7 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per game this season.

An MRI performed on the right wrist of Dwyane Wade came back negative on Saturday.

He is listed as day-to-day heading into Sunday's game at Oklahoma City.

Wade suffered the injury on Thursday against the Knicks and sat out Friday night's win over the Pistons.

He is averaging 25.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists this season.

Amar'e Stoudemire sprained his right knee in New York's loss to Atlanta on Friday.

He is listed as questionable for Sunday's game versus Detroit.