Rehab race: Derrick Rose seems to be ahead of Ricky Rubio
BY JOE COWLEY jcowley@suntimes.com October 19, 2012 11:20PM
Updated: November 21, 2012 6:15AM
It would’ve been nice if Bulls star Derrick Rose and Timberwolves up-and-comer Ricky Rubio had been able to sit down and discuss life as point guards in the NBA when they got together Friday.
Instead, it was simply a meeting of the knees.
Rubio tore his left anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments last March and is spending most of his time in street clothes. Rose tore his left ACL in the first round of the playoffs against the 76ers but seems to be ahead of Rubio in their rehabs.
That was much of the talk.
“It’s tough,’’ Rubio said. “It’s a tough injury. You’re six, eight, nine months without playing your favorite sport. Sometimes it’s just playing basketball, where you forget about everything and you just enjoy it. I just wish him a healthy recovery.’’
Rose has been shooting around since the summer and shooting jump shots since early September. Rubio is still about two weeks away from shooting jumpers.
“Every player is different,’’ Rubio said. “Every recovery is different. We don’t have to look at somebody else to see when one can come back.’’
Getting a look
Coach Tom Thibodeau had been wanting to get Luol Deng in that all-too-familiar role of working with the second unit, and he finally did it against the Timberwolves. The new-look “Bench Mob’’ that will start the season working with Deng included Nazr Mohammed, Marco Belinelli, Nate Robinson and Taj Gibson.
Rip’s body of work
Thibodeau slowly has been increasing the minutes for the starters this preseason, especially Rip Hamilton. With Rose out, Hamilton’s workload will increase.
“[Hamilton] put a lot of work into improving his body,’’ Thibodeau said. ‘‘He’s feeling a lot better this year, so that’s a good sign.’’
