Luol Deng starts, plays 31 minutes; Jimmy Butler scores career-high 19

Luol Deng returned to the Chicago Bulls' starting lineup Monday and played 31 minutes. Deng, who had missed games with a hamstring injury, scored 12 points, hit two 3-pointers, grabbed four rebounds, handed out three assists and blocked a shot.

Deng's return didn't hamper Jimmy Butler, who played 31 minutes. Butler scored a career-high 19 points (7-10 FG, 5-7 FT) with six rebounds, two assists and a block. In a related note, Rip Hamilton played just 15 minutes.

We have our first piece of evidence that Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau is ready to roll with Butler and Deng, something I speculated about prior to Deng's return. We'll have to see if this is a trend or an anomaly. Butler is available in 90 percent of Yahoo leagues.