Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

BOSTON -- Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon is still a little unsure about his how much he can do with his strained hamstring, but he appears willing to test it out tonight in Game 5 of the first round NBA Playoff series with the Boston Celtics.

Chicago's leading scorer said he was about 50/50 on playing around 5:55, but a few moments later Bulls head coach Vinny Del Negro said Gordon would be in the starting lineup and they'd go from there.

"It's frustrating, but I just go to deal with it," Gordon said of the injury.

Gordon, who leads the Bulls in scoring this post-season with 24.8 points per game, injured his left hamstring in the fourth quarter of Game 4 on Sunday. Team physician Brian Cole diagnosed him with a strained hamstring, and MRI confirmed that on Monday morning.

Prior to tonight's game, Gordon did some shooting and some light work. He said that he loosed up somewhat, but he also said he thought he'd need to stretch more and that he still has pain particularly when changing directions or planting his leg and pushing off.

There apparently has been no significant change -- for the better or for worse -- in the injury since Sunday.

Del Negro said the team's game plan won't change with or without Gordon. Kirk Hinrich could see an increase in minutes, but Del Negro stressed that they'll wait to see how Gordon feels and then make decisions based off of his feedback.

An exercise bike will be on the sideline and heat pads will be available for Gordon to attempt to stay warm an loose when he isn't in the game.

"It's not going to get better until he gets some rest," Del Negro said. "Let's just keep our fingers crossed, get him out there, hopefully it will loosen up a little bit for him, he won't injure it worse, and he'll give us what he can give us. It's the playoffs and he definitely wants to play. We need him to play well."