DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose is doing all non-contact drills in practice, but coach Tom Thibodeau said Rose is "not anywhere close to playing" as he rehabs from a torn ACL in his left knee.
"He's right where he's always been," Thibodeau said after Sunday's practice. "Each week he'll do a little bit more, he's doing more basketball stuff but still he's not anywhere close to playing. He's got a long way to go for that. He's doing all the non-contact stuff in practice, none of the contact stuff, but he's doing well overall."
Rose, who tore his ACL on April 28 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Philadelphia 76ers, has been running, cutting and shooting with his teammates in recent weeks, but his teammates and coaches know it's going to be a while before he returns to game action.
"It's too early," Bulls guard Richard Hamilton said when asked about seeing flashes of Rose's old ability coming back in practice. "Derrick is an unbelievable talent. To see him do stuff that ... (as) a guy coming back that injury is incredible. He's able to move up and down on the floor and things like that, but no contact. Our job is to just hold the fort down and hopefully he'll get healthy soon."
Rose, who had surgery in May, was expected to be out between 8-12 months.
In other injury related news, guard Kirk Hinrich was given the day off to rest several nagging injuries.
"He's got a few different things where he's nicked up," Thibodeau said. "But with some rest hopefully he'll be fine (Monday)."
As for Hamilton, he says he feels fine after playing for the first time in almost a month on Saturday night. Hamilton missed the past month because of a torn plantar fascia in his left foot.
"I told coach don't worry about my endurance part," Hamilton said. "I've been able to control that and do all the right things my whole career, of always staying in shape. I still feel to this day that I'm probably the most conditioned athlete in the NBA at my age. It's just one thing that I pride myself on is really taking care of my body."