<
        >

          Chicago Bulls Report

          Butler's thumb swelling down, still questionable for opener

          • Scott Powers, ESPN Staff WriterOct 24, 2014, 01:42 PM ET
            Close
              Scott Powers is the Blackhawks beat reporter for ESPNChicago.com. He is an award-winning journalist and has been reporting on preps, colleges and pros for publications throughout the Midwest since 1997.
            Follow on X

          ST. LOUIS -- Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler’s left thumb has decreased in swelling, but his status for next week’s season opener is still in question, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said Friday.

          Butler suffered the injury during the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets. An MRI revealed he sprained ligaments in his left thumb. He will miss his second consecutive game when the Bulls play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.

          “He’ll be reevaluated next week,” Thibodeau said after the team’s shootaround at the Scottrade Center. “The swelling is down. That’s a good thing. But it would be premature at this point [to say anything] other than I know the doctors are going to look at him again at the beginning of next week.”

          Thibodeau was preparing both ways for Butler to be in and out of the lineup when the Bulls open their regular-season schedule against the New York Knicks on Wednesday.

          “Whatever it is, it is,” Butler said. “If they tell me he can go, great. If they tell me he can’t go, next guy get in there, get the job done.”

          Butler was having a strong preseason prior to the injury. He averaged 15.8 points with a 58.8 shooting percentage, 8.6 rebounds and 26 minutes in six preseason games. He scored 29 points against the Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 16.