Less than five weeks after arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, Scottie Pippen participated in most of Monday's practice and then declared he may try to play Tuesday against Detroit.

Perhaps feeling emboldened by a good-natured thrashing of Tyson Chandler in a one-on-one game, Pippen didn't hesitate when asked if he was a week away.

The Bulls began Monday five games behind Philadelphia for the eighth and final playoff spot, a fact that Skiles recently detailed emphatically in a meeting with players."Obviously, the clock ticks," Skiles said. "And at some point, somebody is going to have to rattle off eight out of 10.

"It'd be very easy to say, 'We've lost to the crummy teams. Therefore, we can't make it.' But if you're always thinking about failure, it's self-fulfilling. You're going to fail. We have to get everybody back. Then, let's see."