Boozer's status unknown for Round 2 opener

The Bulls resumed practice Friday at the Berto Center, while Carlos Boozer took another day off to rest a turf toe injury on his right foot.

Boozer suffered the injury in the Game 5 clincher against Indiana on Tuesday. His status for Monday's series opener against Atlanta is unknown, but the consensus is he will play.

“It's hard to say, but I'm thinking he will be able to,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “It's gotten better each day. They've done the MRI. They've done all that stuff. The big thing is he feels a lot better today than he did yesterday, so hopefully tomorrow will be better.”

Forward Taj Gibson often starts when Boozer is out, but he didn't sound concerned, either.

“Knowing Carlos, I know he's going to play,” Gibson said. “I'm ready to jump in whenever coach Thibs needs me.”

Boozer had a rough series offensively against the Indiana Pacers, averaging 10.0 points and shooting 36 percent from the field. He did average 10.2 rebounds.

Boozer missed one of the three regular-season games against the Hawks on March 11 in Chicago. Kurt Thomas started for Boozer, Derrick Rose scored 34 points, and the Bulls rolled to a 94-76 victory.

“I always say we're a better team when Carlos is on the floor,” Luol Deng said.

Rose participated in all of Friday's practice. He suffered a sprained left ankle in Game 4 against Indiana but returned to score 25 points in Game 5.

“Two days off I think helped him a lot,” Thibodeau said of Rose.

Waiting for awards:Derrick Rose is going to win the MVP award, the only question is when. Teammate C.J. Watson sent out a Twitter message Friday congratulating Rose for winning the honor.The news couldn't be confirmed, but it's possible the official announcement could arrive in time for Rose to be handed the award before Game 1 against Atlanta on Monday. Tom Thibodeau is also favored to win coach of the year.Past doesn't matter:The Bulls went 2-1 against Atlanta during the regular season. They were outscored by 20 in the second half of a March 2 road loss, losing a 17-point halftime lead.In the other five halves these teams played, the Bulls outscored the Hawks by 68 points.#8220;What happened then really isn't important,#8221; coach Tom Thibodeau said. #8220;They're playing at a very high level right now. The way they played against Orlando, that's what we have to be ready for.#8220;I think we have to be well balanced. We know we have to execute on offense, and we know we have to play great defense. If you let your guard down at all against these guys, they'll make you pay.#8221;Noah feels healthy:Bulls center Joakim Noah averaged 15.3 points and 10.7 rebounds in the last three games of the Indiana series. After missing 10 weeks with a thumb injury, then suffering an ankle sprain in late March, he's feeling good now.#8220;It took longer than I thought to get back healthy, get back into a rhythm. But I'm feeling healthier than I have in a long time,#8221; he said. #8220;Just to be in this position, being in the playoffs, the adrenaline of every game being huge and then just the rest between games, it really helped me.#8221;Regarding the accusations by Pacers forward Danny Granger of dirty play in Game 5, Noah offered no apologies.#8220;I understand sometimes you get frustrated after a loss,#8221; he said. #8220;Like I said, I wasn't doing anything anybody else wasn't doing. That was the way the game was being played.#8221;