Word from the Bulls' AthletiCo Injury Report is that Joakim Noah is doubtful for tonight's game against the Knicks. When the Bulls announced Noah wouldn't be in the lineup until the All-Star break, they did say "at the earliest." And as of now, it looks like it will be, at least, another day before Noah returns. According to K.C. Johnson, it "could be awhile."

On Monday, Noah particpated in half of practice. Afterwards, he told reporters, "I'm not 100 percent yet. But it feels better than it did a couple weeks ago when I was playing."

Doubtful and "not 100 percent" are things Bulls fans better get used to hearing, regarding Noah. Doctors have already told him that plantar fasciitis requires six weeks of rest to heal -- Noah hasn't played since Feb. 3 against the Sixers.

Well, two weeks down, only four to go.

Erick is a contributor to i94 Sports. You can find his daily thoughts at his site Outside the Clubhouse.

Derrick Rose’s run in with Deltoids McGee on Wednesday night didn’t ruin his All-Star weekend. His bruised right hip kept him from defending his slow-jog-and-passing obstacle course crown on Saturday night, but it didn’t stop him from playing 15 minutes – eight points, four assists, three steals – in the main event.

Rose said his hip bothered him, but ultimately, the injury is nothing serious. From the Tribune: "It was more sore than I thought, but I continued to fight through," said Rose, who was unsure if he'd practice Monday. "I should be fine. I'll keep getting treatment."

Now, to what people want to talk about. Based on all the Rose/Dwyane Wade backcourt comments or the "Look at that behind the back pass to Rose" comments on Twitter, a lot of people spent the All-Star game looking for 2010 free agency connections. The Tribune and Sun-Times gave everyone a taste over the weekend: Wade and Chauncey Billups (not a free agent) had nice things to say about Rose; Chris Paul (not a free agent) pulled him aside to talk point guarding and Bosh discussed Rose’s development.

Personally, I feel Rose's selection to the All-Star team, the mingling it would allow him to participate in, and its effect it would have on free agency has been overstated since Rose's selection was announced. So, if you’re looking for someone to suggest that Wade, Bosh, or anyone else, talking about Rose is a sign of things to come, well, then you’re going to have to look somewhere else. The All-Star game is the place for players to say nice things about other players, and most of their statements were generic, “Yeah, Derrick is great!" quotes.

If there was any doubt surrounding Tyrus Thomas' future with the Bulls, there isn't anymore. The Bulls' decision to suspend Thomas for Saturday's game reiterated exactly how they feel about their talented, sparingly used forward: They're tired of the whole Tyrus Thomas-thing.

And though this report can't spell Vinny Del Negro's name right, it's clear that Thomas won't be a Bull for much longer.

Playing time and Thomas' role with the Bulls suggests he may not have been given a fair chance to succeed, especially this season. He averages 22.8 minutes per game (7th on the team); he has only started three games, even though Taj Gibson has been bothered with plantar fasciitis for over a month; he is normally yanked immediately following any mistake; and barring a unique set of circumstances, Thomas doesn't get heavy minutes at the end of games.

However, this isn't a coach-player battle like Thomas' profanity-filled verbal assault aimed at the head coach would make it seem. Considering Del Negro's lame duckiness, constant trade rumors involving Thomas, and talks of a contract extension that "never pushed past perfunctory", this is bigger than a coach not liking a player.

The desire to move on without Thomas is organizational. And considering the Bulls' history with draft picks, they aren't simply giving up on him. This is the same team that is notorious for thinking too highly of its own players. Really, does not giving a high draft pick a chance sound like something the Bulls would do?

Giving up on a draft pick, without a reason, isn't in their character. They just don't seem worried about Thomas turning his career around for another team.

Derrick Rose’s All-Star selection came down like an MVP trophy handed to the Bull most responsible for the team's improved play. Rose is good and all, and if there was such award, he’d win it, but is Rose good enough to be solely responsible for the Bulls’ best long road trip since 1997?

I'm sure of one thing: Rose is so good, no one is upset that he gets all the credit; however, as far as this season is concerned, Rose’s improvement would only mean so much had everyone else kept struggling. This “historic streak” needed All-Star Rose, along with help from the others, mainly on offense.

Kirk Hinrich’s promotion to the starting lineup coincided with the current 13-5 run. This makes it easy to give kudos to Hinrich, especially considering the things he does to help Rose: He handles the ball, and defensively, he handles point guards when Rose can't. Plus, since joining the starting lineup, Hinrich’s shooting has crept closer to his career average – a 48.0% career effective field goal percentage (eFG%).

But while Hinrich's numbers have been regressing to his career mean, John Salmons has become an entirely different person. Since being removed from the starting lineup, Salmons has an 84.3% eFG% on 3-pointers. At this rate, Salmons is a better fit for the Phoenix Suns, a team that has four players among the top 13 in 3-point eFG%.

As a starter, Salmons’ eFG% on 3-pointers was 49.6%. 

Along with improved shooting, Salmons' shot selection is more efficient. I don't believe there is a stat to track this, but Salmons has cut down on "I haven't taken a shot in a while, I think it's my turn" possessions. You know, those possessions when the offense consisted of Rose dribbling over half court and passing to Salmons. Then, Salmons would ignore everyone on the floor and try to take his man off the dribble. He would do all of this before launching a contested, long 2-pointer.

In January, inefficient 16-23 feet jumpers became smarter 3-pointers. Of course, where the shots are coming from are less important than how often they go in. But fewer stupid shots are nice too. From December 26 (when Vinny Del Negro made the lineup switch) to now, Salmons' ratio of long jump shots (16-23 feet) to 3-pointers is about 1:1. This is a significant improvement from the 3:2 ratio in November and December.

It's just too bad 3-point shooting at this rate cannot last.