Bulls' Rose close to returning, but Noah needs more time off
The Bulls could get Derrick Rose back as soon as Tuesday's game against Milwaukee, but Joakim Noah needs more time to recover from a left shoulder sprain.
Rose has missed three straight games with right hamstring tendinitis and had an MRI on his sore right knee Monday. Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said the MRI showed no damage and Rose is a game-time decision for the Bucks at the United Center.
"He participated (in Monday's practice)," Hoiberg said at the Advocate Center. "We didn't do a lot of live activity."
The Bulls didn't think Rose's issues were significant, so Hoiberg said the MRI results weren't necessarily a relief.
"More than anything, it was ruling something out with the soreness that he had," Hoiberg said. "The hamstring feels a lot better. The swelling in the knee has gone down. He had a little bit of soreness and weakness when he did some of the testing before (Sunday's) game. So we took a cautious approach. We'll see how he reacts overnight and then see how he is in the morning."
Noah suffered the left shoulder sprain on Dec. 21 against Brooklyn. Monday's two-week checkup determined he'll need more recovery time, but Hoiberg is confident surgery won't be necessary.
"We're still not comfortable with Jo. If he gets his arm in a vulnerable position, it could cause some (problems)," Hoiberg said. "He's just not quite ready."
The Bulls can afford to stay cautious, since they've won all three games without Rose and are 5-1 without Noah.
Moore returns to form:
The Bulls now have three examples of players who have gone from not playing at all to joining the rotation and doing well. It happened with Aaron Brooks, rookie Bobby Portis and now E'Twaun Moore, who played down the stretch against Toronto after sitting for five games recently.
"It's a great luxury when you've got guys on the bench that aren't going to complain when they're not in the rotation and they're going to go out and give you really good solid minutes when their name's called," coach Fred Hoiberg said.
"We've got guys that are playing new roles this year; not only guys that have gone from a starter to a reserve role and vice versa, but also you've got guys that haven't really played much in the rotation in this league. It takes some time, but I think we're trending in the right direction."
Bull horns:
According to the NBA officiating report from Sunday's game in Toronto, Jimmy Butler was the victim of a bad call. The league felt Butler's go-ahead 3-pointer with 33 seconds left should have been a 4-point play opportunity because he was fouled by DeMarre Carroll. ... If anyone's wondering, the NBA individual scoring record for points in a half is 59, set by Wilt Chamberlin during his 100-point game in 1962. Kobe Bryant scored 55 in the second half of his 81-point game in 2006. David Thompson and George Gervin each scored 53 points in the first half while vying for the league scoring title on the last day of the 1977-78 season.