Point guard has been in superb form in pre-season.
Chicago Bulls vice president John Paxson is delighted with Derrick Rose’s progress in pre-season and believes he has “no restrictions” ahead of the new season.
The 25-year-old has returned to action after an 18-month lay-off due to a torn ACL, and has wasted little time in getting back into his rhythm.
While he has averaged around 27 minutes in pre-season, he has consistently managed to score 20 points and over while also contributing assists, rebounds and steals.
However, one of the areas where there is room for improvement is turnovers, and Rose has admitted that it is something he will have to work on ahead of the new season.
“We’ve turned the page,” Paxson said on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN Chicago 1000.
“Unless he would come up with something that would concern us, but we have no concerns right now. You look at his preseason, and I think [coach] Tom [Thibodeau] has done a really nice job of kind of amping up his minutes.
“He’s played six games. In reality he is only averaging about 27 minutes a game in this preseason, and he has looked terrific. Right now there is no reason to think that there will be any restrictions, and we’re not anticipating that at all.”
Early indications suggested that perhaps coach Tom Thibodeau would look to protect his star point guard by limiting his minutes or even resting him in between games as the season gets underway, but Paxson envisages no such treatment.
While he conceded that Rose isn’t likely to play 48 minutes a night, he will have a significant presence starting with the season opener against the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.
Rose has averaged 19.7 points in pre-season, but that figure has steadily increased in the past three games to 27.3 as the Bulls remain undefeated.
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