Derrick Rose could return to play against Miami

Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg seemed optimistic about Derrick Rose playing Tuesday in Miami.

Rose, who has missed three games with right hamstring tendinitis, made it through most of Monday's practice and the coaches asked him to sit out the parts he missed.

"He's feeling better," Hoiberg said. "When I worked him out Saturday morning, he was in a lot of pain. (Sunday), he worked out again and he had less pain. This morning, he got a good warm-up in, got a good workout before practice and participated in most of it. That's a good sign.

"Hopefully, he'll be available, if not tomorrow, then in Orlando (on Wednesday)."

In the three games before the injury, Rose averaged 26 points while shooting 57 percent from the field.

"If he feels he can explode off it, then he'll play," Hoiberg said. "If not, if he still has trouble exploding off the leg, we'll take a cautious approach and sit him. It's diagnosed as a tendinitis injury. So a lot of it is how he explodes off it.

"Once we do get him back, hopefully we'll have him back for the rest of the year."

Butler gets closer:

Jimmy Butler, out with a left knee strain, and Nikola Mirotic, recovering from an appendectomy and hematoma removal, won't make the trip to Florida. Hoiberg said it's conceivable Butler could be ready to play when the Bulls host Houston on Saturday, but next week seems more realistic.

"Jimmy is going to get some workouts in, play some one-on-one and two-on-two while he's back here," Hoiberg said. "And then when we get back the plan is for him to hopefully practice with us and test it and see how he's feeling. … If he feels great in practice, I wouldn't rule Saturday out."

Mirotic is making progress, but needs more time.

"That second surgery was a lot more painful than the first one to remove the appendix," Hoiberg said. "With the hematoma, they had to put a drainage tube in there, and that's a tough surgery to recover from. He lost weight. He's starting to get his color back. He still doesn't feel great after workouts."

Dunleavy gets tough:

Coach Fred Hoiberg praised veteran forward Mike Dunleavy's toughness on Monday, particularly how he fouls without giving up 3-point plays.

"Mike's got a little nasty streak to him, and that's what makes him a great player," Hoiberg said.

That comment led to some comedy when Dunleavy spoke to reporters. He was asked if he was "James Bond tough to Arnold Schwarzenegger tough?"

"I'm Chris Rock tough," Dunleavy answered. "I think I'm witty and creative and sometimes controversial

"It's funny, you play in this league long enough, you figure out only the strong survive. You've got to be tough, you've got to figure it out, you've just got to grit it out. It's a long season, we've got the best athletes in the world, so you've got to love the challenge."

Bulls scouting report

Bulls vs. Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena, 6:30 p.m.

TV: Comcast SportsNet

Radio: ESPN 1000-AM

Outlook: Top scorer Chris Bosh may miss the rest of the season with a blood-clot issue, but the Heat is 4-2 without him so far. Miami also added former Brooklyn SG Joe Johnson, who made his Heat debut with 12 points Sunday. Dwyane Wade is playing well, averaging 21.3 points over the past 10 games. PG Goran Dragic and C Hassan Whiteside are averaging 12.9 points on the season, with former Bulls SF Luol Deng at 11.5 ppg. Wade scored 28 points when Miami beat the Bulls 89-84 on Jan. 25 at the United Center.

Next: Orlando Magic at the Amway Center, 6 p.m. Wednesday

- Mike McGraw