Beyond Game 1, though, Rose is not ruling out a return to the court. He has not played since tearing the anterior-cruciate ligament in his left knee in the first game of last year’s playoffs, but he told ESPN.com on Monday that “I might have a chance” to play against the Heat.
“We’ll see,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said, according to ESPN.com.
Rose will join Luol Deng, who underwent a spinal tap as an emergency procedure for a violent flu, on the bench for Game 1. Kirk Hinrich is a game-time decision with a bruised calf, and Joakim Noah is expected to play through plantar fasciitis. Almost everybody on the Bulls is banged up, leaving Rose open to criticism for not trying to suit up in the playoffs.
