Derrick Rose will start for the Bulls in their season-opener Tuesday night against the Cavaliers, head coach Fred Hoiberg informed the media on Monday. Rose missed almost all of training camp and the preseason due to a fractured left orbital, which he suffered during Chicago's first day of practice.
Derrick Rose will start in the Bulls’ season opener
Fred Hoiberg says the former MVP will be under no restrictions after missing most of training camp with a fractured left orbital.
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Rose is not expected to have any restrictions, though Chicago does open the season with three games in four nights and the team is concerned about Rose’s conditioning. He missed the Bulls’ first seven preseason games before returning to the floor last Friday in a face mask. He played just 10 minutes.
“I’m just happy to be playing,” Rose told the media on Monday, via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. “When I’m playing, I really don’t know I have (the mask) on.”
Rose, however, did say that he’s having some blurred vision while playing with the mask. He also has to familiarize himself with the new system being run by Hoiberg.
“I feel comfortable in this offense. I feel like I’m back in college playing freely,” Rose said Sunday, via CSN Chicago. “I feel like the practices have been harder for me than the games. That’s a good sign. We’ve just really been going at it.”
Hoiberg also announced that Nikola Mirotic will start in the frontcourt alongside Pau Gasol, a move that will send Joakim Noah to the bench. The two of them will join Rose, as well as Jimmy Butler and Tony Snell, to form the Bulls' starting five. Inserting Mirotic into the starting lineup should provide an offensive boost to a team that in recent seasons has struggled to consistently score.
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