TORONTODuring the offseason, Derrick Rose talked about the silver lining of his torn ACL injury being that he could focus on strength training, something he previously neglected, due to his natural physical gifts.
Prior to his teams shootaround Wednesday morning, Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau discussed the former league MVPs physical condition and concurred with Roses opinion.
Derricks one of those guys who stays in great shape year-round. Its about where hes been in the past, he said. Hes had to put more time into that, from that standpoint, so I think hes doing more core stuff, more for his lower body and I think guys sort of evolve into that. The longer youre in the league, the more you understand, too, how important that is for maintenance, to be able to endure getting nicked up during the course of the season.
Thibodeau wary of Raptors
As expected, Thibodeau wasnt resting on the laurels of the Bulls 97-58 Monday-night thrashing of Atlanta at the United Center.
The coach added that despite the Raptors mediocre record, he was concerned about their depth.
Thats gone, so you just get ready for Toronto. Practice well today, concentrate, just go step by step, be ready to go, he said. The activity of their bigs, Jose Calderon off the dribble, DeMar DeRozan off the dribble. Kyle Lowry had a pretty good ankle sprain last night, but then came back and played great in the fourth quarter.
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"John Lucas III is an X-factor when he comes into the game, Fields is hard-playing, Ed Davis has played extremely well for them up front, Amir Johnson has played well. Aaron Gray is a guy who, if he gets deep post position, hes going to make you pay, Thibodeau continued. Theyre playing well. The last 10 games or so, theyre really playing well.
Lucas still on Bulls' minds
Luol Deng talked about the shoot-first nature of former teammate John Lucas III, known for his instant-offense ability.
Although Lucas is in Toronto, Deng said that the backup point guard still keeps in touch with his old team.
Thats just his game. Theres some guys in this league, you just know when they get the opportunity, theyre going to get shots up and sometimes you wonder why theyre not playing a lot of minutes, and thats probably why. But its just his game, he quipped.
John is always talking smack somehow, whether its on Twitter or texting you, something he saw. Hes always staying on his former teammates.