Noah, Gibson doing all they can to stay on floor

When the Bulls were on the road last week, Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah paid a visit to the same San Antonio massage therapist who used to treat coach Vinny Del Negro's plantar fasciitis when he played for the Spurs.

To hear Gibson describe the experience, it had similarities to a prisoner-of-war interrogation.

"There was a lot of yelling," Gibson said with a laugh. "Especially when Jo went in there the first time. I thought mine was bad. He was like, 'What are you doing? What are you DOING?'

"I was in a lot of pain, but you just deal with it. It was real beneficial."

Foot injuries to the Bulls' starting big men might be the biggest threat to the team's five-game winning streak. Neither player practiced Sunday or Monday, though both are expect to suit up Tuesday when the Bulls return to the United Center for the first time in 18 days to take on the Los Angeles Clippers.

Asked about the massage experience in San Antonio, Noah kept quiet. No need to rehash bad memories.

"I think we're gutting it out," Noah said. "It's frustrating. You just want to get back to 100 percent. It's not fun when you're playing in pain."

During the 2006-07 season, Bulls forward Andres Nocioni had trouble with plantar fasciitis and ended up sitting out for two months.

Losing Noah, Gibson or both for that long isn't a pleasant thought for the Bulls, who have gone 13-5 since Dec. 25.

One positive sign is Gibson managed to get through the just-completed, seven-game road trip as though nothing was wrong. He averaged 9.4 rebounds and 8.0 points in 28.3 minutes.

Before the trip, Gibson described the agony of taking that first step in the morning on his left foot. If Gibson played like his usual self on the road, these foot injuries must be manageable somehow.

"You just grind it out," Gibson said Monday at the Berto Center. "The aftereffects of it are crazy, because you really have to ice it down. You have to stretch it for about an hour and then it's just painful.

"The doctor says it's better if you just tear the ligament off it. But that's even more painful, plus you'd be out a month."

To deal with the injury that has been bugging him since the summer league, Gibson has a specific regimen he goes through to be ready to play.

"You heat it up and you've just got to keep stretching it," Gibson said. "The calf muscles get real tight; you've got to keep stretching it. When you're on the bench, you've got to keep doing something to keep your foot ready."

Another positive sign is that the Bulls skipped three potential practice days during the ice-show road trip and came back with wins every time.

Maybe it's possible to give Noah and Gibson plenty of rest but not lose them for games. Veteran center Brad Miller also has sat out the last two practices because of a sore knee.

"We haven't had the quality of practices the last couple days that we'd like, just because of Joakim and Taj being out," Del Negro said. "That hasn't been good, but hopefully we'll heal up and have a good shootaround in the morning."

Noah had to sit out a game Jan. 23 at Houston but finished the road trip averaging 14.5 rebounds and 13 points in the wins over Oklahoma City and New Orleans.

Except for the all-star break, the Bulls' schedule is packed with games in February.

They play four in five nights this week and again after the All-Star Game. They also have six sets of back-to-back games this month, compared to 10 over the first three months.