Flu bug putting Bulls to the test

LOS ANGELES -- To put it mildly, the start of the Bulls' two-week road trip hasn't gone as well as anyone hoped.

There was the 17-point loss to the undermanned Golden State Warriors in the opener on Monday, plus steady downpours and periods of heavy rain in both the Bay Area and here, with more rain scheduled for the next stop in Phoenix. And now it appears the stomach flu is making its way through the team.

John Salmons, who complained of nausea throughout the day Monday, got sick after the Golden State game and didn't travel with the team here Monday night. He remained in Oakland, Calif., and was hospitalized for tests. He wasn't expected to rejoin the team here until Tuesday night or this morning.

Luol Deng and two other members of the Bulls' traveling staff also are experiencing minor symptoms. A virus can quickly make its way through a team --especially when that team is on an extended road trip and spending even more time together.

''Yeah, it's a concern,'' Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. ''It seems like it's going through [the team] a little bit. We can't afford anybody to be down.

"We've had players down before, and we didn't fare real well. We need everybody. We need all the troops. We need all the bodies and versatility and all the energy we can muster to continually try to improve and give us opportunities on this tough road trip to get a couple of wins.''

The only good news after practice Tuesday at USC was that Kirk Hinrich -- who missed Monday's game with the virus -- participated in the practice and expects to play tonight when the Bulls face the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center.

''I'm feeling a lot better,'' Hinrich said. ''Hopefully, I'll be ready to go for as long as they need me. I'm gonna try to do my best to get my fluids and take care of myself, get fuel in, as good as possible.''

If Salmons isn't able to play -- which would seem a strong possibility at this point -- Hinrich may be asked to play extended minutes.

Regardless of who plays, the Bulls know they have to perform a lot better -- and cut down on the dumb mistakes -- to beat the Clippers.

''We have to play harder and smarter and play with more intensity, play smarter,'' Del Negro said. ''You could say Kirk wasn't playing or we were off. But the bottom line is we didn't guard well off the dribble, we didn't execute what we wanted to defensively, and I didn't think our ball movement was sharp. Our execution on screens and diving and rolling behind -- and all the little things we've been doing much better as of late -- just weren't there.''

That's what was most troubling about the performance against the Warriors, who were down to eight players, including three players recently signed from the National Basketball Developmental League. The Bulls were mostly in a daze and lacked focus and aggression.

''Not good enough, especially when you're on the road,'' Del Negro said. ''We've been having very good focus, very good intensity in our practices and transferring that to the games, but [Golden State] was the aggressor, they were always attacking us, and we were reacting. When you're doing that at this level, you're gonna lose.

''In order for this team to win games, we have to play 48 minutes and be efficient and play much better than we did [Monday], that's for sure.''

If they don't play better, the flu-stricken players won't be the only ones feeling sick.