Bulls hoping to have Rose back Monday

The Bulls earned some respect for the Eastern Conference on Friday by beating Memphis in the "Grindhouse," where the Grizzlies had been 12-1 this season.

That's the nickname for FedEx Forum, a play on the Grizzlies' defensive style.

Now the Bulls will get a personal tour of what's good about the East, taking on the top two teams in the standings on consecutive days. It starts Monday when Toronto (22-6) visits the United Center, before the Bulls travel to Washington on Tuesday.

It's too early in the season to place any added importance on these games, but the Bulls are hoping to be at full strength for a change. Derrick Rose said Sunday he's hoping to return against Toronto after missing two games with an illness, while Taj Gibson (ankle) also is planning to come back from a two-game absence.

"The sickness probably came from being around my son," Rose said Sunday at the Advocate Center. "He was sick. It was something I probably caught from him.

"I'll take that any day. I'm just spending time with my son. I think it comes with the territory of being around a sick kid. It's just something I've got to live with."

Before the illness struck, Rose had played in 11 straight games, a good sign of progress as he returns from nearly two years off because of injury. He also produced his first 30-point game since the two knee surgeries last week against Portland.

"He had a nice run going and unfortunately he got sick," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "There's nothing you can do about it, other than try and get healthy and get back out there. But I felt that as he started to string the games together, he was getting better and better. That's encouraging."

The Bulls have played without either Gibson, Joakim Noah or Pau Gasol in 15 of the last 16 games. That's meant more playing time for Nikola Mirotic, and the 6-foot-10 rookie has delivered.

Mirotic talked about how he celebrated his 27-point game against Memphis on Friday that bodes well for the Bulls.

"I really try to be focused after that game. I come here to practice in the morning because I want more," he said. "I'm hungry because I want every day to be a better player. It's not over. It's just one good game."

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