Bulls' Derrick Rose Will Start In Opener Without Restrictions
(CBS) Bulls point guard Derrick Rose will start the team's season opener against the Cavaliers on Tuesday night as he continues to work back from a left orbital fracture that he suffered on Sept. 29 in the team's first practice.
"We'll start Derrick tomorrow, and we'll see on minutes," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "He doesn't have any restrictions, per se, but we'll be a little bit careful, just for the fact that he hasn't had a lot of practice time."
Rose saw his first game action Friday in the preseason finale, and he looked explosive. Rose scored eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, with three of his baskets coming on drives to the rim, in just more than 10 minutes of action.
"We'll play it by how he feels out there," Hoiberg said of Rose's minutes.
The Bulls play three games in four nights to open the season, so Rose's conditioning will be tested. He feels he'll be up to the challenge after coming out of Friday's action with positive vibes.
"The way that I was able to drive the ball last game ... it felt good driving," Rose said. "Like I said, it boosted my confidence a little bit."
Rose is wearing a protective mask, which he said he doesn't think much of once he's on the floor. He added he's still experiencing double vision at times and indicated he's playing with just one eye open at times.
"Whenever I play, I just play with one eye," Rose said. "So I close the other eye until my eye, or my vision, is back clear. I just close one eye and just go out there and play. It worked out for me (last Friday)."