'Don't read anything into' Rose not starting

First-year Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro has given warnings not to read too much into his preseason starting lineups.

But it was tough not to read at least a couple of sentences into Tuesday night's plan.

Del Negro removed rookie Derrick Rose from the starting lineup for the first time in preseason, using Larry Hughes next to Kirk Hinrich in the backcourt.

"Don't read anything into the starting lineup, but Larry and Kirk give us a bigger backcourt, there's no question," Del Negro said following the game. "Larry's athletic and can get after guys. I thought Larry and Kirk really set the tone for us defensively.

"Derrick's a great kid; he's going to keep working. I'm not really worried about his offense as much as I am defensively, being attentive to running the club on both ends of the court. That's just going to take time."

Those starters did provide some food for thought when the Bulls outscored Minnesota 30-13 in the opening quarter.

That lead was gone before halftime, though, and the Bulls eventually lost to the Timberwolves 96-86 at the United Center. But the first quarter looked good, anyway.

Over the long haul, the Bulls (0-3) coughed up too many turnovers and were not effective on defense. Nine of their 22 turnovers occurred in the second quarter, when they were outscored by Minnesota 33-15.

"You can't expect to have 14 turnovers in the half, finish with 22 in the game, and be happy with that," Del Negro said. "You can't give up layups. If guys are going to make plays, make them hit jump shots with a hand in their face."

The most promising aspect of this game for the Bulls was the performance of center Drew Gooden. Working against Minnesota's high-scoring Al Jefferson most of the night, Gooden produced 20 points and 8 rebounds in just 26 minutes, while hitting 9 of 13 shots from the field. Jefferson finished with 13 points and 7 boards.

"I've been ready since I set foot in this league," Gooden said. "I just needed an opportunity to be on a team and an organization that had faith in me."

Another positive sign was Andres Nocioni busting out of an early slump. He hit 7 of 10 shots, including 4 from 3-point range, and scored 18 points.

Before the game, Del Negro indicated his revised starting lineup was a legitimate experiment and not a reaction to Rose missing Monday's practice due to a death in the family.

"It had nothing to do with missing practice," Del Negro said. "Just like I told you before, we're going to tinker with lineups a little bit. We're trying to get healthy, trying to find ways to get guys in shape."

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