Derrick Rose Return Close? Update On The Bulls Point Guard Injury [VIDEO]

By Greg Price | December 05 2012 11:43 AM

Injured star Derrick Rose's long awaited return to action appears to be imminent, as the point guard was spotted knocking down jump shots Tuesday night at the United Center before Chicago’s matchup with the Indiana Pacers.

Reuters

Chicago's Derrick Rose tore his ACL in Game 1 of in the first round of last year's playoffs and was expected to miss a minimum of eight months.

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Originally expected to miss eight months to a year, Rose could return to practice in the next few weeks, according to Yahoo! Sports.

The former MVP was also seen running and cutting Monday at the team's practice facility, but the Bulls are mum on his exact return to the court. In early November, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said his star was right on schedule with his rehabilitation from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in the first round of last year’s playoffs in May.

While the Bulls ultimately want Rose back, Chicago has still followed most of the formula for their successful run over the past three seasons, which consisted of one part Rose, one part defense, and one part rebounding.

Currently 8-8 without him, Chicago is third in points allowed and are seventh in total rebounds, with forward Luol Deng and center Joakim Noah picking up the scoring slack.

Rather than rush the superstar back, it would be more reasonable for Thibodeau and the Bulls to let Rose heal as much as possible and for now rely on veteran Kirk Hinrich, who leads the team in assists with 5.6 per game.

There is still more than three quarters of the season left, and if Chicago can float around .500, a completely healthy Rose can lift them up the Eastern Conference rankings in the second half, and make them a force in the playoffs.

The short video below from CSN Chicago, shows Rose in sprint drills at the Bulls practice facility: