Bulls' Derrick Rose To Miss 3rd Straight Game With Hamstring Injury
By Cody Westerlund
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Bulls point guard Derrick Rose will miss his third straight game Saturday night as he deals with right hamstring tendonitis.
"He looks better, he looks a lot better than he did the last couple days," coach Fred Hoiberg said ahead of the Bulls' home game against the Trail Blazers. "But he's still having trouble exploding off that leg."
Rose had a workout that Hoiberg oversaw earlier Saturday that involved some full-court conditioning and shooting drills. Afterward, Rose was "pretty sore," Hoiberg said.
Hoiberg sounded uncertain how long Rose could be out, though one answer suggested his availability is in doubt for Chicago's road trip to Florida that features a game at Miami on Tuesday and at Orlando on Wednesday. Asked if Rose at least being on the court earlier Saturday meant it's not a serious injury, Hoiberg responded, "That's a good question."
"A lot of it's based on feel," Hoiberg said. "He wasn't moving around great.
"Better than the past couple days, but he's still got a pretty good limp."
This will be Rose's 10th missed game of the season and his sixth because of his right hamstring. Before missing this stretch of games, Rose had been submitting his best month since March 2012, averaging 21.9 and 6.0 assists this February.
Also on Saturday, the Bulls got positive news on the results of an MRI on All-Star wing Jimmy Butler's strained left knee that's sidelined him since Feb. 5.
"Looked good," Hoiberg said. "The swelling is significantly down. Now it's just a matter of Jimmy getting back out there, getting his timing back, getting his conditioning and getting comfortable. He still hasn't exploded off the one leg. He's done some two-foot jumping, he's done some lateral slides. And now it's about getting him back out there in scrimmage-type situations."
The Bulls still don't have a clear timeline for Butler's return, as Hoiberg said they'll know more after he fully tests himself on the floor. The front end of the Bulls' initial timetable on Butler allowed for a return in the first week of March.