"Carlos Boozer skipped his third straight practice with turf toe Sunday, though Bulls teammates and coaches still expressed optimism he would play in Monday's Game 1 against the Hawks.

"He'll be ready," Joakim Noah said.

Boozer, who declined to comment until after Monday morning's shootaround, did some individual shooting on the side and participated in some of the walk-through portions of practice. But he hasn't scrimmaged or taken contact since suffering the injury to his right big toe in Tuesday's closeout victory over the Pacers.

"He said his foot is feeling a lot better," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "He did some shooting and stationary bike. As long as he keeps getting better, that's the encouraging thing.

"Hopefully he can do more in the (Monday) shootaround and then he'll warm up before the game. If he doesn't have any problems, then he goes. If he does, we plan both ways."

Kurt Thomas has worked with the starting unit the last three days in practice, and a source said Thibodeau is leaning toward starting the veteran. During the regular season, Thibodeau often favored keeping Taj Gibson in his energy role off the bench.

No matter who plays, look for the Bulls to try some cross-matching with Noah on Josh Smith, a tactic which worked during the regular season. Thomas, in particular, fared well defending Al Horford."