Rose could be back Monday against Hawks
The story line surrounding the Bulls on Sunday couldn’t be more obvious.
After an alarming 97-85 home loss to New Jersey, everyone from fans, players and coaches are eager for Derrick Rose to return to the lineup.
Rose wasn’t visible or available to the media following practice at the Berto Center, but coach Tom Thibodeau made it sound as though there is a decent chance Rose will play Monday against Atlanta.
“Each day he’s done more,” Thibodeau said. “He’s responded well. He hasn’t had any problems. So today was more physical. He defended pick-and-rolls, went 1-on-1, defended the post, played in the post, defended catch-and-shoot.
“So he did a lot today. We’ll see how he is tomorrow. We’re going to go from there. It was the next step for us.”
Rose has missed five games with back spasms. His most recent game action was 22 minutes at New Orleans on Feb. 8.
Thibodeau’s biggest concern was how Rose will feel Monday after his first full-contact basketball since that date.
“He was explosive, and that part was good,” Thibodeau said. “We didn’t do a lot of up and down full court. It was more half-court. His conditioning will probably be affected a little bit and his timing. But he’ll get that back quickly.”
The Bulls have two games remaining before the all-star break. Thibodeau said the team wouldn’t consider asking Rose to take an extra week off, which also would provide an excuse to skip the All-Star Game.
“When he’s ready to play, he’s ready to play,” Thibodeau said. “Whether it’s tomorrow or later, I’m not going to base it on anything other than him being ready to play.
“Not our opponent, not the All-Star Game. If he’s cleared medically and he’s ready to play, then he’ll play.”
Ugly loss revisited:After watching the video, coach Tom Thibodeau found nothing positive in Saturday#146;s loss. The Nets started the day with an eight-game losing streak but raced to a 22-3 lead after the opening tip.The Bulls have gone 2-2 in their last four games and dropped below Miami for first place in the Eastern Conference. They haven#146;t lost two in a row, though, since Feb. 5 and 7 of last season.#147;In this league, if you take shortcuts, you#146;re going to pay for them, and we have,#148; Thibodeau said. #147;It#146;s both your offense and your defense, because they#146;re tied to each other.#147;Our spacing is breaking down. We#146;re quick-shooting the ball and we don#146;t have floor balance, so it doesn#146;t allow us to get our defense set, and we#146;re giving up easy baskets.#147;We#146;re not making the effort that#146;s necessary with our smalls being back on the raise of the shot and our bigs sprinting back to get our smalls back out (to guard the perimeter).#148;Bull horns:After most of the players had retreated to the locker room Sunday, Brian Scalabrine and Jimmy Butler held an impromptu dunk-off. No word on a winner, but both guys probably jump better than people would expect. #133;Coach Tom Thibodeau on veteran guard Mike James, who has played quite a bit in the last two games:#147;I#146;m comfortable with him because I know what his strengths are. I think he understands what we#146;re trying to get done. The one thing about Mike is he#146;s going to play hard every time he#146;s out there.#148;