Derrick Rose's fate may be known after surgery
The Bulls are playing Minnesota on Friday night, but just what their playoff chances look like might be determined by the time morning shootaround ends.
Derrick Rose's latest knee surgery has been scheduled for Friday morning. When it's complete, the Bulls may know if there's a chance Rose can return before the end of the season.
Rose was diagnosed with damage to the medial meniscus cartilage in his right knee after an MRI exam Tuesday. It's essentially the same injury that knocked him out last season after 10 games.
“Anytime you have surgery it's tough, but this will hopefully be much shorter than the other ones,” coach Tom Thibodeau said Wednesday.
When Rose had right knee surgery on Nov. 25, 2013, team doctor Brian Cole attempted to repair the cartilage damage, which offers a better long-term prognosis for a healthy knee.
Another option with torn cartilage is to shave off the loose portion. Such a procedure usually offers a faster recovery time.
There's optimism around the team that Rose will be able to return before the end of the regular season, but there should be a better answer once the surgery is complete. The Bulls have 24 games left in the regular season.
“I think we're all optimistic about it,” teammate Jimmy Butler said. “We want him back and I'm sure he's going to try to get back as soon as possible.”
No matter the prognosis for Rose's recovery, the Bulls will have to play without him for a while. Their first attempt didn't go well as they lost to Charlotte 98-86 on Wednesday.
Aaron Brooks started that game at point guard, but didn't shoot well after getting off to a fast start in the first quarter. It's possible Thibodeau could make a switch and start Kirk Hinrich.
“I don't know. I want to see how it unfolds,” Thibodeau said after Wednesday's game. “I thought Aaron got us off to a really good start. I thought Kirk played well off the bench.
“I have a pretty good idea of who's going to play. I'd like to get to the point, too, where we can mix and match some, where guys are comfortable playing with different units. There's been a lot of jumping around and we've got to iron that out.
The Bulls have gotten plenty of practice playing without Rose. He missed all but 10 games during the past two seasons. The Bulls are 7-5 this season when Rose is sidelined.
On Wednesday against the Hornets, the Bulls entered the fourth quarter trailing by 2, then were outscored 31-21 the rest of the way. Charlotte shot 60 percent from the field in the fourth quarter.
“We're still capable of playing good defense,” Thibodeau said. “I thought the defense in the first half was very good and then in the second half, we didn't finish our defense as well as we should have or could have.
“That's something that we have to continue to work on. Then we have to figure out the rotation a little bit. The fourth quarter you want to be your best quarter. Obviously it wasn't the case.”
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