NBA: Bulls' Deng, Bobcats' Augustin to miss games; Nets' James out for the year

The Chicago Bulls, owners of the best record in the NBA's Eastern Conference, will be without their second-best scorer for the foreseeable future, as the team has reported on their Twitter page (@chicagobulls) that Luol Deng has a torn ligament in his left wrist. 

 

Head coach Tom Thibodeau confirmed the report to ESPN Chicago, and said that Deng is "week to week."

 

The Bulls plan to rest Deng in the hopes that operating on the wrist does not become necessary. 

 

"I really feel like we have a very good chance of doing something special," Deng told ESPN. "And I feel like without the surgery I'll be fine. I just know what I can do without it and what I can't do. And I really think I'm going to be very effective out there. There's going to be days when it's sore." 

 

Deng suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of a 95-89 win over the Charlotte Bobcats last Saturday (Sunday, PHL time). Without him, the team managed to dispatch the New Jersey Nets yesterday, 110-95. 

 

The 2004 first round pick is currently averaging 15.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals. 

 

Meanwhile, the Charlotte Bobcats will miss starting point guard D.J. Augustin to a toe injury, a team press release announced. 

 

The fourth-year player was diagnosed with an "inflammatory condition of the sesmoid bones that lie in the flexor tendons on his right big toe" and is expected to miss four games. 

 

Augustin, who re-aggravated the injury in the first quarter of a January 22 (Jan. 23, PHL time) loss to the New Jersey Nets, averages 13.7 points and leads his team in assists with 6.7 a game.  

 

Finally, the New Jersey Nets announced on their Twitter page (@Nets_PR) that second-year player Damion Jones will miss the season to recover from right foot surgery.

 

Jones started the team's first seven games and normed 4.9 points and 4.7 rebounds, but was sidelined due to soreness in his foot. 

 

As it turned out, surgery became needed to replace a screw in his fifth metatarsal, eliminating him from the team's line-up for the rest of the 2011-12 NBA season. — Adrian Dy/RSJ, GMA News