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Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said Thursday it's "unlikely" point guard Derrick Rose will make his season debut Friday night against the Golden State Warriors, but Thibodeau did acknowledge that he likes the way Rose continues to progress from a torn left ACL. "We'll see (Friday)," Thibodeau said after practice when asked if there was a chance Rose could play. "With him it's just day to day. He had a good day today, he went hard, did a lot of stuff. But we'll see." ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, Derrick Rose, Injuries 

When asked again if there was a chance Rose could play Friday, Thibodeau seemed to indicate that his guard wasn't going to play, but he left the door open for more interpretation. "There's always a chance," Thibodeau said. "But let's just say nothing has changed. As he told you guys the other day, he doesn't know. "I think he's got to have a few days where he feels really good about where he is. And it's not that he's not feeling good. He's feeling very good, but he's not quite there yet. So we'll know when he gets there. And I would say this, it's 'unlikely' that he plays (Friday) just so we clear that up. Nothing has changed." ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, Derrick Rose, Injuries 

Thibdodeau was noncommittal when asked if he expects Rose to play this season, saying the Bulls are prepared either way. "I just want him to do what he has been doing, which is put everything you have into each day," he said. "He's practiced well. He's got to keep doing it, and when he goes, he goes. We can't wait on him. We have to find ways to win now. Hopefully, at some point, he'll be ready to go. He's put a lot of work in. No one wants to play more than he does. We have to trust him." USA Today Sports

Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, Derrick Rose, Injuries 

Thibodeau was asked about Joakim Noah's quote from late Saturday, in which he playfully talked about being tired and said Thibodeau is "a great coach, but he doesn't understand the whole rest thing yet I don't think." "I felt in moving forward that he could handle starters' minutes now," Thibodeau said. "Last year, we had Omer (Asik) so they shared the position more. I think he's grown. The added minutes have turned him from being an average player into an All-Star. If you pull his minutes back to 28-30 minutes, then he goes back to (averaging) 9 (points) and 9 (rebounds). He has shown he can handle it. He keeps playing better and better." Noah is averaging 38.4 minutes, 5.6 more than his career-high. "A starter who is young should be able to play 36-38 minutes," Thibodeau said. "There are a lot of guys doing that." Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, Joakim Noah 

As far as what Thibodeau felt about Reggie’s comments, he dismissed them as one man’s opinion. “Obviously Reggie and Derrick are very close, and we share the same concerns about Derrick’s health,’’ Thibodeau said. “So that’s not anything new, and Reggie is entitled to his own opinion. “To me it’s not a big deal. Hey, we all want the same things. We want Derrick’s health and we’re trying to pursue winning a championship, so we share that in common. That’s his opinion. He speaks for himself, not a big deal.’’ Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, Derrick Rose, Reggie Rose 

Ira Winderman: For those who need to know: Yes, Derrick Rose scrimmaged 5-on-5 again Wednesday, and, no, Tom Thibodeau said Rose would not play Thursday. Twitter @IraHeatBeat

Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, Derrick Rose, Injuries 

The Chicago Bulls’ Tom Thibodeau and the Denver Nuggets’ George Karl today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in January. HoopsWorld

Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, George Karl, Tom Thibodeau, Coaching 

Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said Derrick Rose took "the next step" in his return from knee surgery by taking more contact in practice on Tuesday. "He did a little bit more," Thibodeau said after practice on Tuesday. "He's taking on some contact. He's doing fine. He's been cleared for more contact so we went to the next step today. Up to this point, Rose has been taking what Thibodeau called "predictable contact" in controlled settings in practice. ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, Derrick Rose, Injuries 

First, Tom Thibodeau reiterated Monday what he said after Saturday's overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, calling his benching of Joakim Noah "just a coach's decision." Then, for the first time, Thibodeau elaborated on his decision to sit Noah for the final 22 minutes, 53 seconds. "We were struggling. We were behind," Thibodeau said. "The group that got in there got us back in the game. It was more the way that unit was rolling. I just felt we were so flat that that group was either going to win the game or lose the game for us. They were the ones that overcame a big deficit. That’s usually the case. "In the first half, I always go back with the starters. In the second half, if we’re struggling it’s going to be the group that is going well. That’s the way it is." Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, Joakim Noah 

For a brief moment last offseason, coming back to the Chicago Bulls looked like a realistic possibility for Keith Bogans. Behind his relationship with Tom Thibodeau, Bogans had a strong advocate within the Bulls, and privately the coach pushed management over the summer to bring back Bogans. RealGM

Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets, Tom Thibodeau, Keith Bogans 

Bogans never communicated with Thibodeau about a potential return, but he told RealGM that his agent, Dan Fegan, talked to the Bulls’ front office during the offseason. Ultimately, Bogans believed re-signing with the Brooklyn Nets fit him best and the Bulls acquired Marco Belinelli. Bogans admits the respect between he and Thibodeau remains strong, but as he said after the Nets’ loss to the Bucks on Wednesday night: “That was about it, though.” RealGM

Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets, Tom Thibodeau, Keith Bogans 

First, Anthony got ejected with 6:45 left for a hard slap on the ball held by Joakim Noah, picking up his second technical foul. Then Woodson followed Anthony to an early shower 1:30 later, earning his second technical for profanely berating the referees. Woodson, outcoached by Tom Thibodeau, appeared to mouth “terrible bleeping call,’’ then adding “bleep you.’’ as a kicker. Bad move as all hell broke loose after that. It got uglier as Chandler and Noah squared off after the Bulls rugged center held Chandler in the paint on a rebound battle. Chandler violently broke free and the two centers appeared to knock heads. Chandler went after Noah, needing to be restrained by teammates. Both players got ejected for “fighting.’’ “I was frustrated by the way the game was going,’’ said Chandler, who got outplayed by Noah, finishing with five points. “That was that. I felt like he got a hold of me and didn’t let go.’’ New York Post

Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Mike Woodson, Carmelo Anthony, Tom Thibodeau, Tyson Chandler, Joakim Noah, Referees 

Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau does not believe Noah will be suspended either. "No," he said. "They got tangled up." Chandler knows that he and Noah just got caught up in the moment. "I don’t think he’s a dirty player at all," Chandler said. "I think it was the incident. Frustration of the game. We got tangled up. That was that. I don’t necessarily think he’s a dirty player or nothing like that." ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Mike Woodson, Carmelo Anthony, Tom Thibodeau, Tyson Chandler, Joakim Noah, Referees 

Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said Thursday that Derrick Rose is "doing great" in his rehab from ACL surgery, and he's hoping Rose will return in the second half of the season. Rose tore his ACL on April 28 during a playoff game, and underwent surgery May 12, and he was expected to be out eight to 12 months. He's been shooting and running for a while, and he started cutting on the knee more than a month ago. ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, Derrick Rose, Injuries 

Bulls management is unhappy with the way Tom Thibodeau plays his starters heavy minutes, leading one insider to say that the two factions are locked in a "cold war." Thibodeau's bosses should remember that the Spurs loaded up Tim Duncan's minutes early in his career, and he has to do the same with some of his players as he tries to continue to win without Derrick Rose. ... Speaking of Duncan, he cited fatigue as a possible explanation for the Spurs losing in Portland when they were playing their fifth game in seven days. Sounds like Gregg Popovich should have sent Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker home to rest instead of playing in one of TNT's nationally televised games, but he'd never do that, right? New York Daily News

Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, Coaching 

Tom Thibodeau does not think he is playing Joakim Noah and Luol Deng too many minutes. He wanted to make that clear Friday afternoon when asked if he thought Noah, who like Deng is averaging over 40 minutes a game, is seeing too much court time for the Chicago Bulls. "No," Thibodeau said. "It doesn't matter. He's in his 20s." The veteran coach chafed at the suggestion he was overworking the two most important players on his current team without Derrick Rose on the floor. "Look, here's the thing, OK?" he said. "I sat on the opposing bench when Phil [Jackson] was coaching the Bulls. I used to sit there and say, 'When's he going to take those guys out, because I don't want to see them on the floor.' He never did." ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, Luol Deng, Coaching, Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah 

“We played them in the Finals in '99. Duncan never came out, so … who knows?” he said. The point is, Thibodeau said, “I think there's more scrutiny all around and it's not just for a lot of minutes … it's never the right amount of minutes, that's the only thing I do know. “So if a guy's not playing big minutes, it's not enough minutes,” he said. “Then if a guy's playing big minutes, it's too many minutes. So I don't know; you play to win, that's the thing. What gives you the best chance to win? Can a guy handle minutes?" ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, Luol Deng, Coaching, Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah 

Tom Thibodeau, coach of the Chicago Bulls, had known of Majerus through Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers -– it was Majerus, remember, who christened the kid formerly known as Glenn with that nickname (Rivers wore a Julius “Dr. J” Erving T-shirt to a summer basketball camp where Majerus was working). But after Thibodeau got hired by the Bulls in 2010, a friendship developed between the two basketball lifers. That first year, Thibodeau met Majerus in Milwaukee for a long dinner about basketball and life – the stout and curious Majerus rarely had any other kind. Then in the summer of 2011, the two got together – with mutual hoops junkies Scott Layden (now Spurs assistant GM) and Jay Larranaga (Celtics assistant), and Majerus’ girlfriend – for a week in Santa Barbara, Calif. NBA.com

Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, Coaching, NCAA, Rick Majerus 

More coaching chatter. More lavish meals, no matter how low-rent the joint. More philosophizing. Genuine and not one of those sideline strutters from central casting. “We’d talk basketball during the day,” Thibodeau said late Saturday, after the Bulls’ victory over Philadelphia at United Center. “Went out to dinner at night. Went for rides and stuff. He could talk about so many different things. “The guy was just mesmerizing. He could talk about any aspect of the game. I have piles of notes about his basketball philosophy. He’s probably one of the top five basketball coaches at any level.” NBA.com

Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, Coaching, NCAA, Rick Majerus 

The Bulls had numerous trade discussions regarding Mayo, including in February 2011, when league sources told the Tribune the Grizzlies turned down an offer of Ronnie Brewer and draft picks. "Tremendous," coach Tom Thibodeau said when asked to assess Mayo's start. "I always felt he played very effectively in whatever minutes he has gotten. When he has started, he has played extremely well. And when he came off the bench, he played extremely well. Few guys can do that, but he's one that can. "I always thought he put a lot of pressure on your defense. And he knows how to make plays. He's not afraid. He has courage." Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo, Tom Thibodeau