Rose looks to cut down on turnovers

Derrick Rose tries to pride himself on taking care of the ball, but he has been careless lately. In the last five games, he has piled up 29 turnovers, just less than 6 per game.

Most of his 6 turnovers in Sunday's overtime win at Detroit came off the dribble. Rose lost control of the ball on a few drives, dribbled into too much traffic and tried to get fancy when matched against fellow Chicago native Will Bynum.

“I think I've just got to back the ball out,” Rose said. “I think most of them come when I try to split someone or when I'm holding it too long. I'm going to learn from it. Next game, you probably won't see it.”

Coach Tim Thibodeau was a little more forgiving when assessing Rose's recent turnovers.

“He's getting a lot of different looks defensively,” Thibodeau said. “Part of it is we've got to improve our spacing and we've got to do some things that can relieve some of the pressure on him.

“He'll get better and better. The timing of the double-team is a little bit different. Sometimes it's coming quick, before the pick, and we've got to be ready to react.”

Rose goes cold:

After shooting 52 percent from 3-point range over an 11-game stretch, Derrick Rose has missed his last 11. His last make was late in the third quarter against Philadelphia last Tuesday, a basket that made the score 90-50.

Rose vowed to get back in the gym Monday and work on his shot while the Bulls took the day off from practice.

“I'm fine,” he said after going 0-for-3 from long range against Detroit. “They (defenders) haven't really been letting me shoot, but if I'm open I'm going to shoot.”

Schedule seems weak:

The next few weeks will be a good indication of how well the Bulls will survive the loss of center Joakim Noah to a thumb injury.

When Milwaukee visits the United Center on Tuesday, it will be the start of a four-game homestand, while nine of their next opponents had losing records as of Monday.

By beating Detroit on Sunday, the Bulls improved to 13-1 against teams that currently have losing records. The loss was a 1-point decision against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Bull horns:

Bulls broadcaster Stacey King missed Sunday's game at Detroit due to the death of his mother, Lois Jean King, at age 75. … The Bulls-Knicks game Saturday drew 42 percent higher ratings on ESPN than last year's New York-Miami clash on Christmas Day. … The Bulls have beaten the Pistons eight straight times.