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Over the next few weeks, we'll take a closer look at each player on the Bulls roster and see where they fit in for the future.

Rip Hamilton

Position: Shooting guard. Age: 34. 2011-12 salary: $5,000,000.

Season recap: Injuries marred Hamilton's first season with the Bulls. First, a groin injury during the first week of the season kept him out of the lineup for about two months. Then a shoulder injury in the first week of March put him out for another month. Hamilton responded well at certain points during the postseason, but coach Tom Thibodeau seemed hesitant to use him during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers until Game 6.

Season highlight: After a very frustrating season, Hamilton actually played one of his best games in Game 1 against the Sixers. He was 6-for-7 from the field, scored 19 points, dished out four assists and looked good alongside Derrick Rose. Of course, everything changed when Rose went down with a torn left ACL late in the game and Hamilton never looked as good for the rest of the series.

Season lowlight: The 38 games Hamilton missed due to injury. When Hamilton actually played, he usually looked fine on the floor, but he just could not stay healthy. When he returned late in the season, Thibodeau was very cautious with his minutes and never wanted to push him, even though he was one of the best remaining scoring options for the Bulls.

Notes: Hamilton was brought in to be the missing piece to the Bulls' championship puzzle but he just couldn't stay on the floor. He wanted to be out there and he wanted to produce, his body just wouldn't allow it. Obviously, it would have been interesting to see how Hamilton would have performed if Rose had stayed healthy, but that's not the way things worked out. Hamilton looked very old as the season progressed and increasingly became a target of Bulls' fans frustrations.

Quotes: "With me, it's not all about scoring," Hamilton said in January. "There's so many great players on this team. My job is to try and make everybody's job easy. If it's scoring, if it's passing, or whatever, that's what I try to do."

What's next?: Hamilton is a very proud man and will undoubtedly work hard to get in better shape for next season, but at almost 35 years old and likely playing without Rose and Luol Deng for a big chunk of next year, how effective can he be? Even if he does stay healthy, which seems to be a major stretch at this point, Bulls' management has to be wondering the same thing.

FINAL GRADES: Regular Season: D. Postseason: C.

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- As Rip Hamilton struggled to free himself from the horde surrounding him in the corner of the Berto Center Monday afternoon, a reporter asked him if he ever thought it would come down to this. Did the 34-year-old who signed with the Chicago Bulls to win a championship ever think that he would be heading into Game 5 of the first round on the verge of elimination?

"I didn't think a whole lot of stuff would happen," the veteran guard said as he strided away.

In one fell swoop, Hamilton may have encapsulated his season, and that of the Bulls, better than anyone.

Hamilton thought he had been brought to Chicago to serve as the missing piece to a championship puzzle. Alongside Derrick Rose, he was supposed help push the Bulls to their seventh championship. Now, as the Bulls get set for Game 5 Tuesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers, Hamilton found himself answering questions about wanting to be on the floor late. He only played 27 seconds in the fourth quarter in Game 4, as Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau stuck with Kyle Korver down the stretch.

"Whatever they need me to do, I'm going to do," Hamilton responded in part, deftly pushing the question aside.

In truth, it's killing the veteran that he isn't on the floor late. In the span of just nine days, he's gone from a guy who scored 19 points in Game 1 alongside Rose to a guy who is just 11-for-34 from the field and is now playing without Rose (torn ACL) and Joakim Noah (sprained ankle). It's been a whirlwind of bad luck for the Bulls and Hamilton admits that he would like to be out there to help more if given the chance on Tuesday.

"You do [want to be out there]," Hamilton said. "But it is what it is. Like I said before when I came here, whatever they need me to do, I'm going to do. My job is -- if I'm not on the court in the fourth quarter -- is to cheer for the next guy because I know the next guy would do the same thing for me. It's just one of them things where you got to stay in tune with the game."

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10: The resurgence of Kyle Korver

He sat out Thursday's regular-season finale because of nagging injuries, but Korver has shot the ball a lot better recently. More importantly, his defense has improved this season, and if he knocks down open jumpers he will stretch the floor for Derrick Rose in crunch time.

9: The rise of Taj

Taj Gibson's defense has gotten even better this season, and he will be called upon to be a closer alongside Omer Asik late in games. He always seems to make one or two highlight plays each night, especially against the Miami Heat.

8. The Bench Mob is rolling

Tom Thibodeau may decide to cut his rotation down much the same way he did last postseason, but if he doesn't, Bulls fans should feel great because their team has the deepest bench in the NBA. C.J. Watson, Ronnie Brewer, Jimmy Butler, John Lucas III, Korver and Gibson have developed into a reliable group of reserves that Thibodeau has more confidence in this season.

7. Noah is primed for a title run

Joakim Noah had a lot of ups and downs this season, but he looks to be mentally ready for the grind that comes in the postseason. He was not happy with how last season finished, and he is motivated to create a different ending this time.

6. Thibs is in control

Now in his second year, Thibodeau knows what he wants from his team, and he learned a lot from the postseason last time. He wants to continue to prove to all the teams that passed him over for head-coaching positions that they made a mistake. The best revenge would be a title.

5. Bulls still feel like underdogs

Thibodeau's team had the best record in the NBA again this season, but he has the players buying into the idea that there are still a lot of people who don't believe they can win. That belief will permeate through the locker room as the postseason drags along and will push his players to play even harder.

4. A year wiser

As a group, the Bulls have matured a lot over the past year. They have gotten even more comfortable playing alongside each other, and they are even more confident when they are on the floor together. That maturity is something that has grown throughout the season, and they feel like it will carry them for the next few months.

3. Don't write off Boozer yet

Carlos Boozer knows that he didn't perform up to his capabilities last season during the playoffs. He heard all the criticism, and it pushed him to come back in even better shape this season. He is the only Bull who started and played in every game this season. He wants to have a big postseason run to prove to everybody who doubted him that he is not a bust.

2. Rip City

The Bulls' biggest flaw last season was that they didn't have a 2-guard who could knock down open shots and take some pressure off Rose. Now they feel like they have that guy with Richard Hamilton, a player who knows what it takes to win a title (having won one in Detroit) and can help show his teammates the way. If he can knock down big shots in the playoffs, nobody will care that he missed most of the season because of injuries.

1. Watching Derrick Rose

Bulls fans should be most excited by the fact that Rose is playing and desperately wants to win a title. He has been hurt, and he's still not close to 100 percent. But he's still the reigning MVP of the league, and he is still better than most of his peers, even when he's not at his best. Rose may not be able to make all the moves he made last season, but as long as he's on the floor the Bulls still have a chance to win a title.

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- With all the concern over whether or not Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau will decide to rest his players for the final two regular-season games, the one guy who appears most primed for a playoff run is, somewhat surprisingly, Carlos Boozer.

The Chicago Bulls' big man hasn't missed a game all season. Given his checkered injury history, it's accomplishment he's very proud of.

"I'm happy to be healthy, especially in this kind of season when there's games almost every day, or traveling every day," he said. "I'm proud of myself; knock on wood and hopefully we can keep it going."

Boozer, who is averaging 15 points and nine rebounds a game this year, admitted that this season has been better than last year's. He played in only 59 regular-season games last year because of various injuries.

"I do," he said. "I think one, being healthy, knocking on wood and two, having chemistry, being able to play with each other. Except for Rip and D. Rose, we've been able to all play together for a lot of minutes out there and get our cohesion going. It's been fun to play with each other again."

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DEERFIELD, Ill. -- The Chicago Bulls are one win (or one Miami Heat loss) from clinching the No. 1 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, but no matter what happens over the next few days, Tom Thibodeau is not about to rest his players down the stretch.

He made that pretty clear after Monday morning's practice.

"When you look at what the starters have done, our guys up front, really no one's playing starter's minutes," Thibodeau said. "And they haven't all season. And then when you look at the backcourt guys, I think Derrick [Rose has] played 1,300 minutes this year. Rip [Hamilton] has played less. So from a minutes standpoint, everyone talks about Luol [Deng]. Luol's only played 2,000 minutes this season. So you have a well-rested team. You have to also keep in mind that we've played over 10 guys all season long, so that plays into it also. So if a guy needs rest, we're going to give him rest. The two things that are important at this point in the season are playing well and being healthy. So if someone were to need rest, we'd give him rest. But you're losing sight of all the guys that have missed the majority of the season."

While some coaches in the NBA have already made the decision to sit players in order to rest them for what figures to be a hectic postseason run, Thibodeau has no plans on doing that at the moment. Considering his starting group of Rose, Hamilton, Carlos Boozer, Deng and Joakim Noah has only played together 14 times all season, the veteran coach wants them to find some kind of rhythm before the postseason begins. He chafed at the notion that he should rest his players just because he could.

"If a guy needed rest, we would rest, but if a guy doesn't need rest, we won't," Thibodeau said. "It all depends on who you're talking about. We also have to be playing well, too, going in. So some guys who have been resting or been injured most of the season, maybe they need some minutes. Maybe a unit needs minutes. And you're also trying to get a look at playing small. Like we went with C.J. [Watson] and Derrick together. We may get a look at things like that, so you got to do both."

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MIAMI -- The most important part of Thursday's 83-72 victory by the Miami Heat happened before the Chicago Bulls even put their uniforms on.

At around 6:23 p.m. Eastern time, the Bulls’ bus, which had been badly delayed by traffic, pulled into the bowels of the American Airlines Arena. One by one each player emerged wearing headphones, trying to get their mind right before the showdown that would help decide which team will lock up the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Derrick Rose emerged without a headset. Camera crews and photographers flanked the reigning MVP almost from the moment he stepped off the bus.

His lack of accessories wasn't the only thing that set him apart, though. It was the fact that he was still walking with a slight limp.

Out of all the things that happened on Thursday night, that is the most important thing as far as the Bulls are concerned. Yes, they lost the game and are now in danger of losing the No. 1 seed in the East, but none of that really matters in the grand scheme of this season. If Rose isn't able to play, or if he plays and doesn't look like the Rose who led the Bulls to 62 regular season wins last season, Tom Thibodeau's team is in trouble.

For all the talk about how much depth the Bulls have and how solid their defense can be, the focal point of any serious title run centers on Rose. At this point, nobody within the locker room is under the illusion that Rose will be 100 percent the rest of the way. The question is can he still function at a high level and lead his team to victories?

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CHARLOTTE -- A veteran of 13 grueling NBA seasons, Richard Hamilton knows that some games mean more than others over the course of a regular-season schedule.

Given the condensed nature of this lockout-shortened 66-game schedule, Hamilton knows that Thursday's showdown with the Miami Heat is one of those matchups.

"I feel as though since they were the team that made it to the Finals last year, they're the team to beat," Hamilton said after Wednesday night's 100-68 blowout win over the Charlotte Bobcats. "You got to go through them. So the intensity is always going to be high, and in order for you to get to where you want to get to, since they were the team that went to the Finals last year, you feel as though you've got to go through them, you can't go around them."

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CHARLOTTE. -- Let's take a quick look at how the Chicago Bulls cruised to a 100-68 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night at the Time Warner Cable Arena.

How it happened: Playing without Derrick Rose (foot) and Luol Deng (ribs), Richard Hamilton had his best game of the season with 22 points and six assists. Joakim Noah added 12 points and five rebounds. Carlos Boozer had 10 points and seven rebounds.

What it means: The Bulls did what they had to do in this one. After a terrible performance against the Washington Wizards on Monday night, the Bulls dominated Wednesday from the start against an awful Charlotte team. The defense was crisp, the rebounding was better, and the Bulls didn't mess around. Coach Tom Thibodeau wanted his team to set a tone early, and that's what they did. They did anything they wanted on both ends of the floor and played with more of an edge. Hamilton was great, and the Bulls' bench bounced back with 42 points after a couple sluggish performances. This was exactly the type of game Thibodeau wanted to see from his team. Aside from the win, the best news for Thibodeau is that no Bulls' starter played more than 24 minutes. This game had the look and feel of a spring training baseball contest when each team pulls their starters after the fifth inning. The sad part of the Bobcats is that most people wouldn't know the difference between their starters and reserves because the talent level is so low on this team right now.

Stat of the night: The Bobcats have now lost 18 games in a row.

Bold play of the game: It's tough to pick out one key play considering this game was over in the first quarter, but Taj Gibson's dunk with 5:31 left in the second quarter has a good chance to make SportsCenter.

What's next: The Bulls have a showdown Thursday night with the Miami Heat. The big question is: Will Rose and Deng play?

CHICAGO -- Taj Gibson sat low in his reclinable black chair in a quiet and depressed Chicago Bulls locker room. He couldn't believe that the Bulls, the team that has grinded out win after win this season no matter which players suited up, could fall so flat against such a brutal Wizards' team, losing 87-84 on Monday at the United Center.

"When you give certain guys confidence early, that's what's going to happen," Gibson said. "[Kevin] Seraphin's playing well. You've got a lot of guys on that team playing for their life, trying to just get some minutes and they're taking advantage of it."

The Wizards used the Bulls’ formula against them on Monday night. They slowed the game down, defended down low and absolutely dominated the Bulls in the paint. Led by Seraphin, who had 21 points and 13 rebounds, the Wizards outscored the Bulls 48-22 in the paint. The Bulls players seemed rightfully embarrassed by their lackluster performance. Playing without Derrick Rose (foot) and Luol Deng (ribs) the Bulls still had more than enough to win -- and they knew it.

"They played a lot harder than we did tonight and that was the bottom line," Bulls guard Kyle Korver said. "They got a lot of guys who are playing for their careers and it just goes to show you can win on any night and you can lose any night. Tough game."

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CHICAGO -- Chicago Bulls guard Richard Hamilton's conscientious plan was to avoid taking any direct blows to his right shoulder against the Houston Rockets on Monday.

He had missed the Bulls' last 14 games due to a right shoulder injury, and the last thing he needed to was to take an unnecessary shot to the same place in his first game back.

But luck hasn't been on Hamilton's side all season, and that continued to be the case on Monday.

On the Bulls' first possession, Hamilton got the ball and shot-faked; Courtney Lee bit; and Hamilton's basketball instincts took over as he leaned his right shoulder into the off-balanced Lee while shooting the ball. Lee came right down on Hamilton's right shoulder.

"It was crazy because that was the one play I tried to stay away from -- a pump fake and a jumping into him," Hamilton said. "It was my luck it happened the first play of the game. It woke me up. The good thing about it was I was able to still fight through it. It was kind of like a stinger, a real sharp pain, but I was able to fight through it and still play."

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Chicago Bulls guard Rip Hamilton missed his 13th consecutive game due to a shoulder injury Friday, despite indications earlier in the day he might return to the lineup.

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CHICAGO -- Chicago Bulls guard Richard Hamilton has a contusion and mild sprain of his right shoulder and is day to day, the team announced on Tuesday.

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The NBA Tonight crew discusses how much the Bulls need a healthy Richard Hamilton.

PHILADELPHIA -- The Chicago Bulls will be without Rip Hamilton (groin, thigh) and Luol Deng (wrist) when they take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.

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WASHINGTON -- The Chicago Bulls will be without Luol Deng (wrist) and Richard Hamilton (groin, thigh) and C.J. Watson will be a game-time decision against the Washington Wizards on Monday.

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