With Curry and Deng on the shelf, the Bulls (32-30) played without two starters for the first time since the first two games of the season, when Curry and Antonio Davis served suspensions for a preseason brawl.
If Hinrich can't go tonight against the Hornets, it's possible the Bulls will be missing three starters for the first time all season.
"We can't panic," Duhon said. "We have to just regroup and go back to the basics and start playing well. I think we prepared for this. That's why we had a tough training camp."
The best reason to remain calm is the state of the teams directly behind the Bulls in the Eastern Conference standings.
Eighth-place Orlando (31-33) has lost six in a row and fired coach Johnny Davis on Thursday, replacing him with former Ohio State forward Chris Jent. The defensively challenged Magic has gone 18-27 since starting 13-6.
Seventh-place Indiana (32-31) admitted this week that top scorer Jermaine O'Neal is likely to miss the rest of the season with a right shoulder injury. The Pacers already lost Ron Artest to a season-long suspension.
Philadelphia (31-33), tied with Orlando, has struggled to fit newcomer Chris Webber into the system. Allen Iverson suffered a chip fracture to his left thumb on Tuesday, though he plans to try to play through the injury. The Bulls play the Sixers for the final time on Saturday in Philadelphia.
New Jersey (29-36) could join the race but has plenty of ground to make up.
<b>In order for the Bulls to miss the playoffs, they would have to fall behind three of those four teams.</b>
Coach Scott Skiles is still concerned with the Bulls' hectic schedule. In the midst of playing four games in five nights this week, Skiles canceled Thursday's practice, even though he knows practice time is vital right now.
