Rose applauds Bulls’ new offense
Derrick Rose reported no problems the morning after his return to NBA competition.
“No soreness at all,” Rose told reporters before Sunday’s practice in St. Louis. “After the game it felt like I hadn’t even played, so I guess that’s a good sign.”
Rose scored 13 points in just more than 20 minutes of action during Saturday’s preseason opener at Indiana. He hit 5 of 12 shots, with 3 assists and 4 turnovers. He displayed plenty of speed and fearlessness, while his outside shots were off target.
In addition to Rose’s return, the Bulls also debuted a new offense against Indiana. Joakim Noah said Friday it’s more of a read-and-react style.
“We are really reacting right now,” Rose said after the game. “It’s kind of that offense where you look at a team like the Spurs, it’s kind of reading what the person does.
“For us, it’s new to some guys, but the guys who have been here, the nucleus of this team, we’re kind of used to it. We’re just knocking the rust off right now.”
The Bulls shot 37.8 percent from the field with 20 assists and 23 turnovers. Those numbers are nothing special, but they did pull off an 82-76 victory over a projected Eastern Conference contender.
There were a few times when Rose didn’t bring the ball up himself. Jimmy Butler and Luol Deng grabbed defensive rebounds and headed upcourt with the ball.
“I love it,” Rose said of the offense. “We’re getting the ball moving. Guys aren’t thinking about it. We did have some stagnant points during the game, but this is preseason. We’re just trying to get the wrinkles out.”
Not a one-man show:Beyond Derrick Rose, several Bulls played well Saturday against Indiana.Taj Gibson looked confident shooting his outside jumper and hit 9 of 12 attempts for 18 points, with 12 rebounds and 3 blocks. Luol Deng added 15 points and Jimmy Butler added 11. Butler got to the foul line 12 times.#147;The turnovers were high, but I thought the intentions were good,#148; coach Tom Thibodeau said. #147;Guys were trying to make plays for each other.#148;The Bulls#146; best highlight of the night probably was when newcomer Mike Dunleavy drove inside and flipped a pass to Gibson, who finished a monster one-hand slam.The Pacers led by 10 points late in the third quarter, going on a 14-0 run after Rose sat down, and used all five starters briefly in the fourth.But the Bulls pulled it out, using primarily a lineup of Gibson, Dunleavy and Marquis Teague with rookies Tony Snell and Erik Murphy down the stretch.The Bulls will play their second preseason game Monday in St. Louis against the Memphis Grizzlies. Then they#146;ll make a quick stop home before heading to Brazil.Rose talks leaps and bounds:After Saturday#146;s game, Derrick Rose said he believes he#146;s jumping higher since his knee surgery. As evidence, he said his vertical leap was measured at 42 inches, where it used to be 37.#147;I think coming into the league, I probably had a 37,#148; Rose said. #147;They tested my vertical, I#146;m probably at a 42.#148;According to draftexpress.com, Rose#146;s maximum vertical was measured at 40 inches at the 2008 predraft camp, so the story doesn#146;t quite check out.mmcgraw@dailyherald.com