Bulls’ Rose won’t be seen all the time
Don’t expect Derrick Rose to be a regular visitor to the Bulls bench once the regular season opens on Wednesday.
Coach Tom Thibodeau suggested Rose might have better things to do than cheer on his teammates for a full 48 minutes per game.
“Just concentrate on the rehab. He’s taking care of that and the rest of the guys are taking care of being ready to play,” Thibodeau said Monday at the Berto Center. “At some point, he’ll rejoin us. He’s doing fine, working hard, coming along.”
Rose might attend the home games, but work on his recovery from ACL surgery while at the arena. When the Bulls leave town for the circus road trip next month, it might make sense for Rose to visit his off-season headquarters in Southern California.
“It depends on what’s going to serve us best,” Thibodeau added. “He’s usually doing rehab during part of the game, so I want that to be the focus. He may travel some, he may not. If it better serves us to have him here or someplace doing rehab, we’re going to do that.”
At the start of training camp, Rose said he wanted to stay around his teammates and show them how hard he’s working to come back. They probably have a good idea by now.
“He’s in every day, so we see him,” Thibodeau said. “He’s working extremely hard. He’s giving all that he can give.”
Robinson living the dream:After a strong showing in preseason, guard Nate Robinson spoke Monday about what it#146;s been like playing for the Bulls.#147;Putting on that uniform is just something special,#148; he said. #147;As a kid, I always wanted to be like Michael Jordan, my favorite player. I wear his shoes all the time. For me, I#146;m like a kid in a candy store.#147;It#146;s an honor being here and playing under the Jordan legacy and the Pippens and the guys who were here before him, as well.#148;This is Robinson#146;s second time playing for coach Tom Thibodeau. He logged a partial season in Boston, while Thibodeau was an assistant to Doc Rivers.#147;Repetition #151; that#146;s one thing he loves to do,#148; Robinson said. #147;We shoot a lot of shots. We go over our offense and defense over and over and over again. We know it. Coach has been great, pushing everybody to get better. That#146;s the kind of coach you need in your corner.#148;Thibs assesses preseason:With two days left before the start of the regular season, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau gave an assessment of the team#146;s exhibition performance.#147;The rebounding, I thought was very good,#148; he said. #147;The unselfishness offensively was good. We got to the free-throw line, I liked that. The turnovers were a problem early on, but I thought we improved as time went along.#147;When you look at the overall defense, I think we could do a little bit better. The last four games, I thought we did a better job of playing inside-out. When we play like that, we give ourselves a good chance.#148;BKN15792603Bulls guard Derrick Rose drives toward the basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010.Associated PressBKN