Chicago Bulls' John Salmons falls ill

LOS ANGELES — John Salmons' "reward" for replacing an ill Kirk Hinrich with a team-high 25 points Monday night was a trip to and overnight stay at an Oakland hospital with a similar sickness.

On the front end of a season-high seven-game trip, the stomach flu is making its way through the team, affecting Hinrich, Salmons, some behind-the-scenes personnel and, to a lesser extent, Luol Deng.

"It's just bad timing," coach Vinny Del Negro said.

Hinrich at least returned to practice on the campus of USC Tuesday and vowed to play Wednesday night against the Clippers.

"I'm a little fatigued and about 10 pounds lighter on my feet," Hinrich said. "But I'm ready to go for as long as they need me."

Del Negro said Salmons was scheduled to travel with assistant athletic trainer Jeff Tanaka and arrive in Los Angeles either late Tuesday or Wednesday. A determination on his availability will be made Wednesday, although it doesn't sound good.

"John had a fever and got sick after the game," Del Negro said. "He has been feeling nauseous for about a week now, going in and out of it. We're being cautious and trying not to let it go through the whole team.

"We can't afford anybody to be down. We've had players down before and we didn't fare real well. We need everybody and all the versatility and energy we can muster to have opportunities on this tough trip."

Hinrich said he became sick overnight Saturday and experienced sweats and chills before intravenous fluids aided him Monday. He watched the Warriors' loss while sleeping in the training room.

"It just seemed we didn't do things that we had been doing to win games," Hinrich said. "It's unfortunate because the first game of a trip is usually a big game."

Double T: In limited reserve minutes, Tyrus Thomas hasn't reached double digits in points or rebounds for nine straight games. Thomas barely missed Monday against the Warriors with nine rebounds in 20 minutes before fouling out.

"We need his activity and for him to play well," Del Negro said. "It's not about scoring or getting your shots. It's about being a good teammate and playing the right way. We need Tyrus to get back to doing that and a few other guys as well."

Asked if increasing Thomas' minutes might help, Del Negro demurred.

"It's a matter of working your minutes when you're out there," he said. "The guys who do that on a consistent basis will get more minutes. That's just the way it works."

Further review: Players said an uncharacteristically blunt Del Negro pointed out several mistakes during a film session before practice.

"It doesn't sit well with me because I didn't like our overall focus," Del Negro said. "We've been having very good intensity and transferring that to the games. But Golden State was the aggressor and we were reacting. When you do that on this level, you're going to lose."