Bulls' Taj Gibson: Will play Friday

Gibson (ankle) will play in Friday's game against the Hawks, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com reports.

Analysis:

While he was originally labeled a game-time decision, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg confirmed that Gibson will return from a one-game absence after partaking in morning shootaround without incident. Paul Zipser started at power forward in Tuesday's 99-98 loss to the Mavericks, but it's fully expected that Gibson will return to his usual role on the top unit Friday and face no restrictions. Gibson had averaged 12.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 27.6 minutes per game in his last five appearances prior to sitting out Tuesday.