Derrick Rose Likely Won’t Return To Chicago Bulls This Year

Derrick Rose won’t be swooping in to save the season for the Chicago Bulls.

The guard has spent the entire season rehabbing from an ACL tear suffered in last year’s playoffs, and both Rose and the team had harbored hopes that he might return for a playoff run. It now seems that won’t happen.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said Saturday that Derrick Rose wouldn’t play in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Brooklyn Nets. Thibodeau added that Rose is likely out for the entire postseason.

Thibodeau did leave a bit of an opening, saying if he thought Rose was ready to return he wouldn’t hesitate to put him in the lineup, though it appears the door is almost entirely shut on a return this year.

“He’s most likely out but you never know,” Thibodeau said. “The playoffs are stretched out, too, so you have to factor that in. So who knows another week from now where he is? You always want to leave that possibility open.”

Earlier this month there seemed to be a measure of optimism about Rose returning. The guard noted that his recovery was moving along, and he would insert himself into the lineup as soon as he felt able.

“I’m not trying to think about that right now,” Rose said. “I’m just trying to get better. I’m just trying to help my teammates, give them confidence to go out there and play hard, and just be a great teammate.

“I’ll play whenever I’m ready to play. Who knows when I’m ready to? Right now, all I can do is just cheer on my teammates.”

The Bulls are limping into the first-round series against the Nets. They are without center Joakim Noah, who has plantar fasciitis, and backup Vladimir Radmonovic with a back injury.

Noah is out for Saturday’s opening game, but could return at some point.

“We’ll see,” Thibodeau said of Noah. “He’s going to stretch and see what he can do but I don’t want him out there if he’s injured. If he’s feeling good enough any minutes that he could give us would be a huge plus for the team but I don’t want him out there injured.”

If Derrick Rose is out for the playoffs, he would be set to play at the start of the 2013-14 season.