The Bulls might be without their leading scorer Tuesday night when Charlotte visits. Luol Deng didn't sound optimistic Monday about playing.

The starting forward injured his right knee in the first quarter of the Bulls' victory over the Celtics on Saturday. Deng played 19 minutes and scored eight points to go with five assists. He was scheduled for a MRI late Monday afternoon.

 
"I really don't know if I'm going to be able to [play] or not," said Deng, who called the injury a bruise. "It didn't feel that great [Monday]. We'll see."

Deng leads the team in scoring at 14.5 points a game and is one of its better free-throw shooters at 82.3 percent. In his last three games, he went 14-for-22 from the field. He missed considerable court time at the end of last season and over the summer because of a wrist injury. Clearly, he's over that.

"He's playing with more confidence," general manager John Paxson said last week. "Lu's going to be a terrific player."