Bulls coach hopes Rose can practice this week
CHICAGO — Derrick Rose may be cleared for practice this week as he continues to recover from a fractured left orbital, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said.
Rose was seen publicly at the Advocate Center for the first time Monday since suffering the injury during the Bulls’ first practice Sept. 29.
“Derrick’s in the building,” Hoiberg said. “It was great to see him today. We’ll get with him and watch some individual film after practice. [He] still isn’t able to do anything as far as courtwork. Hopefully he’ll get the clearance here in the next couple of days, at least get a sweat going and getting a little bit of running.”
Hoiberg hoped that Rose would return by Thursday but was unsure of the exact timetable given that the guard still has some swelling around the eye.
“He’s still got a little blurred vision in that eye. It’s still very swollen,” Hoiberg said. “But he’s definitely making progress from what I saw [a week ago].”
Hoiberg, who visited Rose at his home last week to go over some video of his new system, said Rose has been able to pick up the new portions of the system but understandably wants to get him back on the floor soon.
“He’s able to pick it up quick,” Hoiberg said. “It’s a lot of the same things we were doing, just adding on different wrinkles, different options.
“So for Derrick’s standpoint, I think the biggest thing is him just getting out of the house. He was getting such cabin fever, and the opportunity for him to get back in here has been very important.”
In other injury news, center Joakim Noah will sit out Monday night’s preseason game against the New Orleans Pelicans because of knee stiffness. Noah injured the knee during a preseason game Thursday against the Denver Nuggets and didn’t play in the Bulls’ win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Hoiberg said Noah could return Wednesday night against the Detroit Pistons.
“He’s still got a little bit of stiffness in that knee,” Hoiberg said. “It’s nothing serious. He went through the shootaround today. But we’re going to take a cautious approach with him, make sure that knee’s 100 percent before we put him back out there.”
Hoiberg hopes to have Bulls forward Taj Gibson on the floor no later than next Monday against the Charlotte Hornets as he continues to make his way back from offseason ankle surgery.
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