Chicago Bulls PF, Carlos Boozer, has been in media scrutiny about his game play contributions thus far in the 2011 playoffs, so much that Coach Thibodeau has had to defend his starting forward, who also has been plagued with injuries in recent news.

According to ESPN’s Nick Friedell, Boozer is listed as day to day after X-rays proved negative and an MRI on his sprained left ankle did not reveal any damage.

And to add to the injury list, Boozer also revealed that ligaments on both sides of his right big toe were torn as a result of the injury suffered in Game 5 of the first-round series against the Pacers.  A torn ligament is a Grade 3, a complete tear of the ligaments and joint capsule, with a possible dislocation.

With Boozer’s determination to play, he is probably getting treated with ice, elevation, anti-inflammatories, and pain meds.  Toe-taping and a hard plate may be used in his shoe to prevent bending, so that’s why(if curious), that he can still play on this injury.  With a Grade 3 injury, Boozer more than likely will require surgery to repair the torn tissues.

Though Boozer continues to play through injury, he may be lengthen his recovering time and cause permanent damage to the toe joint.  An athlete with a Grade 3 injury will lose 3 to 6 weeks of sport possibly longer if surgery is required.

The Bulls’ power forward continues to remain active as a starter on the the Bulls roster, but with limited mobility and continues to play through pain.  Boozer said he has NO intention of missing games.  The safest bet on Boozer at the moment, is his determination to play.  His minutes dropped from 35 in Game 4 to 29 in Game 5 against the Atlanta Hawks.  Look for Boozer give close to 35 minutes of action coming up against the Miami Heat.  Coach Thibodeau can also shorten the shifts for Taj Gibson to get more minutes as an option.  Worse case scenario, regardless of how bad his play may be, Boozer is a rebounder with 6 fouls and the most playoff experience on the the Bulls roster.