Rip Hamilton is frustrated about missing so many games during his short tenure with the Bulls.
“It’s my thigh. You can say my whole leg, my whole left leg,” said Hamilton, who originally suffered a strained left groin, which was exacerbated by a left-thigh injury, apparently now the more serious of the two. “The last game I played [against Miami on Sunday], it was killing me. The whole second half, I felt like I was playing on one leg and then, the next day, it’s 20 times worse. It’s one of those things where you want to be out there — I know everybody says, ‘Look at the big picture, look at the end’ — but it’s tough because you want to be out there now, you want to play now and my body’s not allowing me to play right now.”
Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau hinted the best course of action could be to sit Hamilton until he can fully contribute for a sustained period of time.
“That’s the tough one. He’s doing all his rehab and what we want to avoid is the in and out. He’s missed more games than he’s played, so that’s a big concern. So, we want to make sure that he’s completely healthy,” he said. “Rip, he’s a terrific player and he plays both ends. I’m concerned about him, with this thing becoming reoccurring, so I want to make sure this time that he’s completely healthy. I think a guy like that, you’ve just got to be careful with, so that’s what we’re going to do.”