From the Trib:

Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich participated fully in Sunday's practice and, barring a setback, said he plans to return after missing two games with a bruised left knee on Monday in Memphis.

Given how well rookie Marquis Teague has fared in the two games Hinrich has missed, will the Bulls return the rookie to the bench?

"He's playing well," coach Tom Thibodeau said after Sunday's practice. "He has to stay ready, do his job. We'll see how it unfolds."

Thibodeau hasn't let injury alter his rotation. And following Wednesday's victory in Philadelphia, Thibodeau did say, "obviously when Kirk comes back, everyone goes back."

Translated: Hinrich returns to his starting role. Nate Robinson returns to his reserve role. Teague returns to not playing.

But Thibodeau spoke those words before Teague closed his second straight game in impressive fashion. The rookie also made mistakes: He passed up a wide-open 3-pointer late in the shot clock, leading to a botched possession. And he fouled Deron Williams on a 3-pointer on the ensuing trip downcourt.

But Teague rallied to score two big baskets and impressively emerged from traffic to feed Luol Deng for a fast-break dunk.

"His speed and quickness basically allow him to get to any point he wants to," Thibodeau said. "Now he has to figure out the rest of the league. There's a lot of speed and quickness out there with size. Initially, he was able to get by the first man. Then the help is so much different than college. He's starting to figure that out."

Regardless of what happens, it's obvious Teague is a different player than the overmatched rookie who, after winning a national championship in his lone season at Kentucky, struggled in the Las Vegas Summer League.

"It's a lesson he learned; he was in very poor shape," Thibodeau said. "Once he got into shape again, you could see his talent. And he's very smart. When you work and you're smart, those are the characteristics you need to improve.

"It's a big jump for even a four-year (college) guy to come into the pros. They had a heck of a run at Kentucky. He probably didn't do a whole lot from the time they won the championship to the summer league. When you're 19, that's what happens sometimes. But since he's been here, he has had great concentration and is improving."

Hinrich's knee has improved from consistent treatment since he suffered the injury by banging knees with Chris Paul during the third quarter of Tuesday's home loss to the Clippers.

"It seemed just like a normal bruised knee," Hinrich said. "Once I got on the airplane (to Philadelphia), it started bothering me all around the knee. It started swelling up. And it's been hurting since. But I'm feeling better and have made good progress."

So has Teague, a fact not even lost on Hinrich.

"I'm impressed," Hinrich said. "He seems so poised. Sometimes you forget he's just 19. He's done a great job."

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

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To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Good to see this kid emerging.

I'd like to see more Marquis Teague. He's been in the last 2 games, both in the 4th quarter, and has rose to the occasion BOTH times in crunch time. It remains to be seen if he'll be in there again tonight when the Bulls face the Grizzlies in Memphis, especially with news that Kirk Hinrich is a go tonight after missing the last 2 with a knee & elbow injury.

I think Teague's playing time hinges a great deal on how productive Hinrich & Nate Robinson are at the point and whether BOTH guys can stay in one piece from a health standpoint. He wasn't supposed to play that much to begin with, but after making the most of a 6 point, 4 assist effort in Philadelphia last Wednesday and 8 more points Saturday vs. Brooklyn, Teague might be another guy HC Tom Thibodeau can actually trust off his bench.

Why doesn't Thibodeau like to play rookies?

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To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Coach Thibs usually doesn't have confidence. That may explain why we didn't see as much of Jimmy Butler a year ago as this year to this point, and I think the same applies for Marquis Teague.

I'm not a basketball coach, but I feel like Thibs is stubborn. He seemed reluctant to make changes in the playoffs. He wouldn't play Kurt Thomas against the Heat. He would get Mike James off the bench against the 76ers.

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To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

I'm done with Kirk, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd rather see Nate getting the bulk of minutes at the point with Teague coming off the bench.

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not a fan of the 22 second dribbling exhibition followed by a 20 foot heave?

The 20-foot heave wouldn't be so bad if Kirk could reliably hit an outside shot, guarded or unguarded. For a "pure" point GUARD, Kirk Hinrich is one of the worst shooters at his position. Right on par with a Rondo in terms of PGs that can't shoot.

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Kid Cairo's Boers & Bernstein YouTube Channel

Kid Cairo: 2013 March Madness Tournament Winner!

"Cowabunga? Cowa fucking piece of dog shit! This game is diarrhea coming out of my dick!"

The last couple games with Kirk out were actually good. The ball was moving well, and the more experience Teague gets at this point the better. I expect him to be Rose's backup next season.

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I agree. Hinrich has been horrible. Give Teague more minutes.

Hinrich is a lot like Hamilton. He was signed with the hope that he could be the player he was 5 years ago. Instead he is a shadow of his former self and he seems to be getting hurt all the time.

The problem is that in the NBA it is difficult to find good talent that you're not overpaying for. Most of the players who get the big contracts are stealing money by the 3rd or 4th year. The Bulls have never wanted to pay the luxury tax, so they have continued to overpay their players such as Deng, Boozer and Noah and tried to pick up aging veterans on the cheap with hopes of striking gold. It's a star-driven league and the Bulls have shown no recent ability to draft a proven star or hit the jackpot in free agency. With the trend toward the superstar teams, if the Bulls cannot get a second star they will be relegated to mediocrity until Derrick Rose is on a different team or out of the league.

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To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Is it true MD? You've gone from starting worthless threads to adding real thoughts. Nice.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

After 2 solid games off the bench, Marquis Teague got the dreaded DNP-CD last night in the Bulls' 80-71 loss to the Grizzlies in Memphis. However, Kirk Hinrich's struggles have to be a big time concern for HC Tom Thibodeau moving forward. Hinrich has really struggled in his second stint with the Bulls, and Thibs has to eventually decide whether to bench Hinrich, start the erratic Nate Robinson & increase Teague's minutes if Kirk doesn't get his game going.

Kirt and Nate are here for the short term. They should Give the guy they drafted more minutes so he can get good experience and come back next year ready to play a bigger role off the bench

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"You can kill the revolutionary, but you can't kill the revolution."

Agreed on that, but Kirk Hinrich has been injury-prone in addition to a career low 6.6 points per game. As for Nate Robinson, as exciting and as energized as he's been so far, he's 2012speak for John Lucas III. He can be as out of control as JLIII before he ended up going to Toronto in the offseason.

As far as Teague is concerned, he wasn't supposed to play all that much even with Derrick Rose sidelined with the torn ACL. I don't know what the Bulls have with Marquis, but it remains to be seen if HC Tom Thibodeau continues to have confidence in the 19 year old. Will he play tonight vs. the Celtics? I can't say.

I would like to see more of Nate as well. When he's not playing hero basketball he shows an ability to make some exciting plays. Unfortunately, his offense is too inconsistent. He takes bad shots and starts making foolish turnovers with the ball.

Teague could actually be groomed to be Rose's backup. Watching him out there running the team makes Thibs look like a father who just gave his sixteen year old the keys to his Ferrari.

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To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

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He's a D league player according to the eyes of the Rockford Lightning

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

Yeah, I heard Bernsy say that yesterday. There had been talk about sending Marquis Teague to the NBA's Developmental League, but with the status of the Bulls' injury-ravaged backcourt, I don't think Coach Thibs has much of a choice, especially if Kirk Hinrich gets hurt yet again & Derrick Rose still isn't ready to return from his torn ACL.