Gibson still recovering; will miss preseason game
Bulls forward Taj Gibson will begin preseason on the sideline. He's still recovering from offseason ankle surgery, but should be ready for game action soon.
"Hopefully, by the third or fourth preseason game," coach Fred Hoiberg said Monday. "He's looking better all the time. His big thing is getting his conditioning back and showing his explosiveness. He's excited, but he's in poor condition right now."
The Bulls held a few two-a-day practices last week and Gibson always skipped the second session. The surgery in June repaired a torn ligament, Gibson said, an injury he played through last season.
"It's just building his lungs back," Hoiberg added. "You don't want him to go out there while he's doing that and favoring the ankle and hurting something else. We'll continue to take it slow."
Rose session delayed:
The Derrick Rose home visit, originally planned for the weekend, was delayed until Monday, according to Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg. The idea is to visit Rose at home and teach him the new offense.
"Actually, we're going over there today," Hoiberg said after Monday's practice at the United Center. "Looking forward to having a nice session with him (Tuesday). He'll be able to come back in the building when we get back from our road trip, and just a couple days after that he'll be ready to get back on the floor."
Rose has been staying home to rest after having surgery to repair a fractured orbital bone below his left eye. Rose is scheduled to resume basketball activity on Oct. 14.
After hosting Milwaukee on Tuesday, the Bulls will play two road preseason games later in the week. Rose will not travel with the team.
"We'll probably try to get over (to Rose's condo) one more time and see him Wednesday morning," Hoiberg said. "Maybe take some game film over there and show him what we could've done, different reads, that kind of thing."
Small forwards compete:
One legitimate competition in preseason will be at small forward, deciding who will start in place of the injured Mike Dunleavy. Tony Snell and Doug McDermott are the primary candidates, with Nikola Mirotic in the mix.
"They kind of switch off days. One day Tony shoots the heck out of it and the next day Doug does," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "So they'll both get a lot of opportunity.
"All of those guys are getting reps with the first group and the second group. We're switching jerseys quite a bit to see who's going to fill those shoes because Mike is so important to everything that goes on with this team. ... Somebody's going to have to step up and play."
Parker won't play:
Chicago native Jabari Parker does not plan to play for Milwaukee in Tuesday's contest. Parker's rookie season was cut short when he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee last year on Dec. 15.
Parker is participating in training camp and scored 15 points in a scrimmage on Saturday. The former Simeon star has yet to play an NBA game at the United Center.
"I'm on a rebuild and I don't want to cut any corners," Parker said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I want to make sure that I go in 110 instead of 100 percent. (Monday's practice was) the sixth day without any setbacks ... it's been real good so far."