Rose stepping up his game on and off the Bulls court

Before granting an interview request following Friday's fourth day of Bulls training camp, Derrick Rose excused himself and headed to the training room.

He returned a few minutes later with ice bags wrapped around both knees and slowly walked past coach Tom Thibodeau toward the interview backdrop.

Once he started talking, though, Rose showed no signs of being worn down by the first week of practice, sharing plenty of insights and optimism.

Just as he's trying to be a more vocal leader on the court, Rose tossed in some good lines when speaking to the media. Here's one about how the new-look Bulls expect to play this season:

"We're trying to be this grimy team that when people face us, they know it's going to be a hard game every single game," Rose said. "When they come down on offense, they know it's going to be a hard possession every single time."

Rose also used the word "grimy" to describe potential backcourt partner C.J. Watson. When listing the Bulls' big men, Rose said Carlos Boozer is "two people himself."

Rose clearly was on a roll, and here are few more camp insights from the Bulls point guard.

• On the renowned defensive lessons of Thibodeau: "We're going to be good defensively. Any mistake on defense, no matter how many times you do it, he's going to stop you. If one guy messes up, he stops out and corrects it."

• On improving his outside shot: "This whole training camp, I haven't shot a layup, just nothing but jump shots. They've been falling. I'm shooting a high percentage, so I'm happy about that."

• On what's different about the Bulls' offense this season: "We're moving the ball a lot better. We're not holding the ball. If we don't have a shot inside, we're moving it, swinging it a lot of cuts, a lot of picks. It's a great offense; it's like a motion."

• On the inside combo of Boozer and Joakim Noah: "Playing in the scrimmage today, Boozer would shoot a jump shot and Jo was on the inside just battling. He tipped the ball out at least four times, so we had extra possessions to run our offense. That's a dangerous combo Joakim and Booz, Taj (Gibson) and Booz, whatever. We've got a lot of strengths. Rebounding the ball should definitely be a strength of our offense."

• On the Bulls' 3-point shooters: "If you leave (Kyle Korver) open, he's going to hit all the shots. That's what we need on this team. And he's a good guy; he doesn't care how many times he shoots. Luol (Deng) has even pushed his game out where he's coming down and shooting transition threes. That's a great look for him."

• On whether he wants to be a team captain: "I would love to. That's what I'm working on. Everybody's listening to me, everybody's talking to each other. It's a good vibe going around the team."

It may be easy to get carried away with how great everyone looks during in-house scrimmages. The Bulls will get their first look at outside competition on Tuesday when they visit Milwaukee for the preseason opener.

Regarding Rose's claim that he hasn't attempted a layup yet in practice, Thibodeau did back up his point guard's assessment of an improved outside shot.

"He's shooting the ball with a lot of confidence," Thibodeau said. "I don't see any hesitation at all, which is a great sign. If you sag off him, he's not afraid to shoot and that's what I want him to do. Most teams in this league fear him off the dribble. You want him playing to his strength."