Carlos Boozer practices on a limited basis, eyeing 2012 Olympics too
The Chicago Bulls made one of the biggest moves during the off-season when they surprisingly acquired all-star power-forward Carlos Boozer to bolster their campaign this season, along with
superstar Derrick Rose and emerging centre Joakim Noah.
However, the 28-year old power-forward has been sidelined with a broken right hand since the Bulls’ training camp, but after getting the hard cast off his hand, Boozer is now practicing with
the Bulls on a limited basis.
“Carlos is doing a little bit more on the court, so it's encouraging,” said Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau according to John Jackson of the Chicago
Sun-Times. “He can do some running up and down the court, close outs, but he can't handle the ball yet, but he's doing a lot of the non-contact stuff.”
Although he is already being more than a spectator in their practice sessions, Thibodeau refused to give a timetable for Boozer’s return, but the team is looking forward to having him inside
the playing court.
“It's hard to say until you get him out there and see where he is in terms of conditioning,” Thibodeau said. “'He has to go through a normal practice. Once he can do that, we'll start talking
about when he can come back and start playing.”
Boozer, on the other hand, said that he is also very eager to see how well the Bulls will perform if all their players, including him, are healthy.
Meanwhile, Boozer, a gold medallist in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is also eyeing to wear the national colours again after superstars Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Dwight Howard made themselves
available for the 2012 London Olympics, although he clarified that he will focus first with the Bulls.
“When you think about the Olympics, you get a chance to wear USA across your chest, I think it's an honor,” Boozer said. “We got the gold medal in Beijing with the Redeem Team and it would
be an honor to do it again in 2012. It’s not my focus, but if the opportunity came up and they wanted me to play, I would play.”
Without Boozer, the Bulls currently stand in middle of the eastern conference race with a 3-3 record, and are coming off an impressive 94-92 win over the Denver Nuggets on Monday 8 November.
The will gun for their second-straight win when they go up against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday 11 November.
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