Despite brickyard classic, Rose 'feeling great'

The Bulls had won seven games in a row before Tuesday's stinker against Brooklyn, so there's no reason for any New Year's alarm.

But for Derrick Rose, the roller coaster continues. He's turned in some of the best and worst games of his entire career in the span of a few weeks.

Rose produced his first 30-point scoring game post knee surgeries against Portland on Dec. 12. Then there was an impressive two-game performance against Toronto and Washington, where he scored a combined 54 points while shooting 61 percent from the field.

And there was Tuesday's brickyard classic, when Rose hit 2 of 15 shots in the loss to the Nets. Add the 9 misses to finish the Indiana game on Monday and Rose has missed 22 of his last 24 shots.

On the bright side, Rose said he's feeling good physically.

"I'm feeling great. My health is the last thing I'm worried about," he said after Tuesday's loss. "It's just that as long as we get better as a team, I'm not worried about myself. I know I'm going to come around.

"It's just that jelling very quickly, making sure guys are communicating on the defensive end, doing all the little things. That's what makes teams different, especially when you're talking about championship teams. Championship teams do all the little things that you wouldn't think about unless you know basketball."

Over the past two games, 12 of Rose's 35 shot attempts have come from 3-point range. His outside shot has gotten better, but he's still not a consistent 3-point shooter, connecting on 26.3 percent for the season.

"Right now, I'm just taking whatever they're giving me," he said. "They're giving me shots, so I think I can affect the game that way, I just didn't do it yet."

Should Rose focus on attacking the basket more often? Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau often says Rose is "special" when he's aggressive offensively.

"I thought the intentions were good," Thibodeau said Tuesday. "Derrick tried to get aggressive with penetration, but we have to be able to sustain our spacing. They did a good job of collapsing their defense."

Brooklyn coach Lionel Hollins talked before the game about how Rose may need to attack less and avoid contact in order to have a long career.

"Having been an assistant coach to Kevin Johnson I saw what it's like," Hollins said. "I also played with Phil Ford and I know what happened with his (shortened) career just attacking the basket and getting knocked down. My own career.

"You get in there and land on the floor, the floor is not forgiving. The big guys falling on you, stepping on you is not forgiving, either. It just shortens your career. For Derrick's sake, it's a good thing."

So far this season, Rose hasn't taken many big hits or hard falls, even when he attacked the basket well against Portland, Toronto and Washington. He's been using the floater effectively, but those shots wouldn't fall against Brooklyn.

"I really haven't thought about my falling or getting injured again. I haven't thought about that," Rose said. "It's just that when I start making the shots I'm taking, it's going to be an easy game, where it's going to be pick your poison. If you're going to go under, I'm going to shoot the ball. I'm going to force you to go through screens all the time so that the big is in a tougher situation to guard either me or the roll guy."

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Bulls game day

Bulls vs. Denver Nuggets at the United Center, 7 p.m. Thursday

TV: Comcast SportsNet

Radio: ESPN 1000-AM

Outlook: The Bulls haven't had any luck playing in Denver, losing eight in a row. They're a little more successful at home, going 5-3 against the Nuggets over the last eight games. Denver (13-19) has lost four of its last five, including at home to the Lakers on Tuesday. PG Ty Lawson leads the Nuggets with 16.2 points and 10.3 assists. Next on the scoring list are former DePaul star Wilson Chandler (14.5 ppg) and SG Aaron Afflalo (14.4). Danilo Gallinari (knee), Randy Foye (quad) and JaVale McGee (leg) are all out with injuries.

Next: Boston Celtics at the United Center on Saturday, 7 p.m.

- Mike McGraw