Derrick Rose wasn’t visible today at practicem and while coach Tom Thibodeau did confirm that the point guard is participating in non-contact drills in practice, he also let it be known that it doesn’t mean he’s any closer to returning to the floor.
“He’s right where he always been,” Thibodeau said. “Each week he’s done a little bit more. He’s doing more basketball stuff but he’s not anywhere close to playing. He’s got a long way to go for that. He’s doing all the non-contact stuff in practice, none of the contact stuff. But he’s doing well overall.”
CSNChicago.com reported that Rose was a full participant in practice prior to Sunday’s afternoon practice and that he could be set to begin traveling with the team as early as its next road trip.
There is still no timetable for his return, but teammates have been pleased to see him back on the practice floor.
“Derrick is an unbelievable talent,” Richard Hamilton said. “To see him do stuff [for] a guy coming back from that injury is incredible. He’s able to move up and down on the floor, but no contact. Our job is to hold the fort down and hopefully, he’ll be healthy soon.”
HAMILTON GOES THROUGH ALL OF PRACTICE
Hamilton participated in all of Sunday’s afternoon practice and only experienced the normal soreness after a game.
The plan is to keep his minutes in the 15-20 range as Thibodeau has stated that managing the shooting guards’ minutes, so he can remain healthy is of concern to him.
Hamilton played just under 15 minutes in Saturday’s win over Washington and scored nine points on 4-of-9 shooting. Besides missing some shots that he expects to make, after being out twelve games, he had no problems with his conditioning after only being able to do mostly pool work to avoid putting pressure on the left foot, in which he suffered a torn plantar fascia.
“I told coach don’t worry about the endurance part,” Hamilton said. “I’ve been able to control that and do all the right things my whole career [by] always staying in shape. I still feel, to this day, that I’m probably the most conditioned athlete in the NBA at my age. If there’s one thing that I pride myself on, is really taking care of my body.”
HINRICH GIVEN THE DAY OFF
Kirk Hinrich was given the day off to rest after appearing to bang his right knee in the second half of Saturday night’s win over Washington.
“He’s got a few different things, where he’s nicked up,” coach Thibodeau said. “But with some rest, hopefully he’ll be fine tomorrow.”
Hinrich has suffered some various ailments this season and having him rest seems to just be a precaution.