If everything continues to go as planned, Derrick Rose's return to the Chicago Bulls could be in a preseason game on October 5th against their Central Division rivals the Indiana Pacers.
Rose said during a recent European promotional tour he feels 100 percent healthy and plans to play in the preseason opener. He's been sidelined since April 28, 2012 when he tore the ACL in his left knee in a playoff game against Philadelphia.
Last week Rose's older brother, Reggie, was quoted saying that his little brother was "ready to go" as the upcoming season approaches, possibly even starting in the season opener.
"He was getting up at 6:30 every morning and working out with (Bulls assistant strength and conditioning coach) Nick Papendieck," Reggie Rose said Monday. "He has a positive attitude. He's ready to go.
"Looking at his body, he's really strong. The only thing he has to work on is cardio and getting in game shape. But that will come (in training camp). I have no concerns about him physically."
Prior to Reggie's comments, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau preached the same message about Rose months before:
"Watching the way he's moving now, there's a confidence," Thibodeau said. "[Reporters] may not have been able to see the total work he was putting in. But he was putting in an enormous amount of work each and every day. He just never got to the explosiveness he was comfortable with. I think he's there now. He feels great, and that's the most important thing."
As good news of Rose's return continues to develop, Bulls' forward Luol Deng recently discussed how his flu-like symptoms impacted his performance in last season's playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets.
"Obviously there are some things that you can't handle. You can't really handle getting sick, being taken to the ER or going to the hospital," Deng told Pawel Weszka. "I got the spinal tap and that's where it went all wrong. My body didn't react well to the spinal tap. I had some serious side effects that not only didn't allow me to play basketball, but really put my life in danger."
"It's something that I wouldn't want anyone to go through, but when I went through it, I think that basketball became second - especially that because what I went through health wise, my family was very worried. I never want to experience something like that again," Deng added.
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