News: Chicago C Joakim Noah had a solid performance on Saturday against the Bobcats, scoring 21 points and adding 16 rebounds, season highs in both categories. He went 10 for 12 from the field in the game, adding four blocks and three assists to his stat line.

Analysis: Noah had scored only 11 combined points in his previous two games coming into Saturday against the Bobcats. Noah should see an increase in production with Tyrus Thomas out with a forearm injury for four to six weeks. Think about getting Noah active in most formats for Fantasy Week 3 (Nov. 9-15)

Joakim Noah had a career-high 21 points to go along with 16 rebounds and four blocks as the Bulls pulled off a comeback win over the Bobcats on Saturday. Noah played 41 minutes and could end up being the beneficiary from Tyrus Thomas' broken arm. Make sure he's in your lineup going forward.

John Salmons scored 27 points, Joakim Noah added a career-high 21 points and had 16 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Charlotte Bobcats 93-90 on Saturday night for their third straight win. The Bulls had a 16-0 run in the third and fourth quarters that turned a nine-point deficit into a seven-point lead at 77-70.

News: The Chicago Bulls have confirmed that third-year center Aaron Gray has sustained a leg injury and is likely to be out for 6 to 8 weeks. The Bulls said Tuesday that Gray had developed lower leg pain over the previous two days. He was examined by team physician Dr. Brian Cole of Midwest Orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center, who determined that he had a stress fracture of his left fibula. The diagnosis was confirmed by MRI.

Analysis: The injury will keep him out until at least November at this stage and it is possible he could miss the entire first month of the season. Gray plays a backup role, however, and does not have much Fantasy appeal

Gray was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left fibula on Tuesday and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks, the Arlington Daily Herald reports.

Spin: Gray has played well at times during his two seasons with the Bulls, but was re-signed mostly to serve as an emergency big man backing up Joakim Noah and Brad Miller.Tue, Sep 29

The Chicago Bulls have confirmed that third-year center Aaron Gray has sustained a leg injury and is likely to be out for 6 to 8 weeks. The Bulls said Tuesday that Gray had developed lower leg pain over the previous two days. He was examined by team physician Dr. Brian Cole of Midwest Orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center, who determined that he had a stress fracture of his left fibula.

Luol Deng hit just 6-of-17 shots for 14 points, 11 boards and two steals in Saturday's comeback win over the Bobcats. Deng has been on a rebounding tear and looks like he's ready to produce this year. He came into this one averaging 17 points and has averaged 11.5 rebounds over his last four games. Get him into your lineup, and make sure he's not available if you're in a small league.

Luol Deng led the Bulls with 15 points as they knocked off LeBron and the Cavs 86-85 in a nail-biter on Thursday.

Our View: Deng had 7 rebounds and three assists to go along with his 15 points, but his efforts seem dwarfed compared to his last game. He put up 24 points and 20 rebounds against the Bucks on Tuesday. The big man is having an impressive season so far.

Deng followed up an impressive 26 point, 8 rebound effort Sunday with a monster 24 point, 20 board performance in Tuesday's victory over Milwaukee.

Spin: Deng was 7-of-16 shooting, and 9-of-11 from the line. He also added two blocks. Deng mentioned following the game that he's "happy he's healthy," which is good news for fantasy owners worried that the stress fracture in his tibia which forced him to miss the final 22 games of last season might still be lingering.Tue, Nov 3

Taj Gibson started for Tyrus Thomas Saturday, but played just 19 minutes to finish with six points and two rebounds. It reallly doesn't matter that he's starting if he's not going to get run. Joakim Noah, Luol Deng and John Salmons were playing well tonight, so Gibson was planted on the bench for much of the game. Keep an eye on him.

NBA Injuries: Chicago Bulls forward Ty Thomas, who hasn’t really had an impact in his first two seasons, will miss at least 4-6 weeks after suffering a “fractured radius in his left forearm” while doing pull-ups Friday. This means more playing time for USC rookie Taj Gibson. A more serious injury: Sacramento lost leading scorer

Gibson will receive extended playing time over the next four to six weeks while Tyrus Thomas is sidelined.

Spin: Gibson saw 20 and 34 minutes in two games earlier this week while Thomas was out with the flu, and his workload will likely be similar going forward.Fri, Nov 6

ESPN Chicago is reporting that Bulls' forward Tyrus Thomas underwent successful sugery on his fracured forearm on Saturday. Thomas will be evaluated again on Tuesday, and he is expected to miss four-to-six weeks.

Our View: Good news here for Thomas, as everything went as expected with the surgery. He is going to miss some significant time, so look for guys like Taj Gibson and James Johnson to get more opportunities while Thomas is out.

Head coach Del Negro said he's searching for spot minutes for Johnson, who has played just 11 in the blowout loss at Boston all season, the Chicago Tribune reports. "The small and power forward minutes are where we're most full right now," Del Negro said.

Spin: Johnson's ability to play the three and the four should eventually net him some playing time, but as Del Negro said, the team is deep in the front court which will likely limit his minutes barring an injury.Fri, Nov 6

James Johnson had another nice game Wednesday, finishing with nine points and 10 rebounds in a win over Minnesota. He's had a great preseason, but his value is dependent on the health and play of Tyrus Thomas. Thomas is due back soon and could render Johnson useless if he plays well.Related: Tyrus Thomas

News: Bulls G Kirk Hinrich shot for a low percentage on Saturday in a win over the Bobcats. He went 3 for 10 from the field, adding seven assists and four rebounds. Hinrich was 2 for 4 from downtown, turning the ball over four times in 33 minutes of action.

Analysis: Hinrich has failed to reach double digits in scoring in each of his last four games, averaging just 7.8 points per game over his last five contests. He is 16 for 47 from the field during that span as well. Consider him a No. 4 Fantasy option at best at this point in the season

Hinrich needed three stitches after Thursday's game to close a cut in his chin suffered while trying to take a charge from Lebron James on the fourth-quarter's first possession, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Spin: Hinrich, who had nine points, six rebounds and four assists, said he was fine. He should not miss any time and continue to be the first guard off the bench for Chicago.Fri, Nov 6

Kirk Hinrich had 10 points and seven assists in Friday's blowout loss to the Celtics. Hinrich is off to a good start this season and is a decent fantasy option with Ben Gordon now shooting threes in Detroit.

News: Chicago F John Salmons had a big performance on Saturday in a win over the Bobcats. He scored 27 points in the game, going 9 for 16 from the field. He had seven rebounds and six assists in the game as well, turning the ball over three times and getting three steals and a blocked shot.

Analysis: Salmons had failed to reach double digits in scoring in two of his previous four games and came into Saturday averaging only 11 points per game. He can't be expected to score at this clip consistenly however, so think of him as a No. 3 or 4 Fantasy option

John Salmons hit 9-of-16 shots and two 3-pointers on his way to a season high of 27 points to go along with seven rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block in Saturday's win over the Bobcats. We told you to have patience with him, or to try to buy low when he was struggling. he's got it figured out now, and should be good to go from here on out.

Salmons rebounded from two poor games to post a solid across-the-board line with 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and four steals in the Bulls loss to the Heat Sunday.

Spin: Salmons was just 5-for-29 the first two games of the year but went 7-for-14 Sunday. In addition, he and Kirk Hinrich held Dwayne Wade to just 8-for-19 from the floor.Mon, Nov 2