The latest from Rip, from KC Johnson. Hamilton took part in some contact-related drills in shootaround, so his 'gametime decision' is more serious than the hilarious (not really) farce that is Derrick Rose's injury updates.
Here's Thibs. Keep in mind he's a lying liar:
He's very close, his legs are great, so he's over all those injuries. We want to make sure the strength is there in the shoulder. We're very encouraged. He's doing great.
And from the old man himself:
I'm happy with my progress, I know that it's not going to be pain-free. We just want to prevent re-aggravating it. As long as I can get my hand over my shoulder and shoot, I'll be fine. This was the first time I did a little bumping. Scal was chasing me and bumping me and having a little contact. It was good, man. That's the biggest thing is me getting hit...Games are always different than practices, but I've trained myself to be the best conditioned athlete in the NBA. The biggest thing is rhythm, timing and catching your second wind when you're out there for the first time.
The Bulls next game after tonight is Friday against the Pistons. Hopefully that's just a coincidence, as Rip previously rushed back from a groin injury to take on his former mates earlier in the season.
It's good to know that one silver-lining of his upper-body injury is that the lower-body ones appeared to be healed. Sort of scary that the shoulder is a bit of a time-bomb going forward.