Bulls finish preseason with exciting 103-102 win over Dallas

The former MVP missed the rest of the preseason after fracturing his right orbital bone at the start of training camp last month. If Rose is able to play in Friday’s exhibition, you can bet he’ll be out there for the Bulls’ season opener on Tuesday vs. Cleveland.

“I felt good”, said Rose, who finished with eight points, one assist and no turnovers in just over 10 minutes on the court, all in the first half. Butler had a breakout season previous year, making his first All-Star team and winning Most Improved Player, while Rose had an inconsistent, injury-filled season, leading to rumors that there was friction between them about whose team the Bulls were.

“I’m just happy to be running around and get a groove for the game”, Rose said.

Rose (head) will play in Friday’s preseason finale against the Mavericks, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Chicago jumped out to an early lead, thanks to a number of open looks, and went into the second quarter with a 32-28 lead. On a night when Derrick Rose returned and looked good, Dougie McBuckets stole the spotlight, if only for a moment. I love the way that Coach designed everything. There are a lot of lanes and so many opportunities to drive. “As soon as I step up, I’m hitting whoever is open and just trying to play basketball”.

But the Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly balking at the number of players they have to give up for an injured Derrick Rose, especially since Lou Williams, Nick Young and Jordan Clarkson have proven in the preseason games that they can play together.

Rose came off the bench to log two first-half stints and then sat out the second half. While it is true that the Bulls could, at a few point, consider a trade, the Lakers may be too wise to give up their young core for a single player, no matter how much he has achieved. “They’re not always going to be flawless”, McDermott said.

Noah was a bit banged up last season and his numbers dropped to 7.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, down from 12.6 points and 11.3 rebounds the previous season. John Jenkins had his say in the matter, though, as he scored six of the Mavericks final seven points, leaving the game at 102-101.