Report: Rip Hamilton Nearing Return To Bulls Tomorrow Night

Chicago Bulls guard Rip Hamilton may return from a thigh bruise tomorrow night when the Bulls play the New Orleans Hornets, according to Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times.

"He's encouraged by how he's feeling, but we're not going to rush," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We're going to make sure he can get through some practices and not have any problems."

Hamilton has missed 23 games with leg injuries this season, but he's practiced twice in the last week, and Thibodeau says he'll be a game-time decision to play tomorrow -- though if he does play, it's unknown how many minutes he'll be able to handle.

"You won't know that until he gets out there in terms of how many minutes he can handle and how he's feeling," Thibodeau said. "The big thing for us is taking it step by step."