Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose was fined $25,000 for publicly criticizing officials after Monday's win over the New York Knicks, the league announced Tuesday.
"I've gotta be the only superstar in the league that's going through what I'm going through right now," Rose said, referring to a lack of foul calls in his favor. "But I can't say too much about it."
Rose said earlier Tuesday he expected to be fined. It's his first during his four years in the NBA.
"I think you guys know Derrick, Derrick's not a complainer," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Usually if he says something, he has a point that he wants to make. I thought he was driving the ball pretty hard and didn't get calls so he wanted to make a point."
Rose was 6-for-9 from the line and 12-of-29 from the floor, scoring 32 points in Monday's 104-99 victory.
Rose did not practice Tuesday afternoon, but Thibodeau expects him to play Wednesday night against the Miami Heat.
"[He was] just a little sore, rest," Thibodeau said. "He's nicked up a little bit."
Rose took a hard foul during Monday night's win over the Knicks and appeared to be moving slowly after Tuesday's practice, but Thibodeau didn't sound too concerned.
"Wear and tear," Thibodeau said. "Hopefully the rest will do him good."
Rose has already missed 10 games this season because of turf toe and back issues. The brighter news for the Bulls was the fact that Luol Deng returned to practice and Thibodeau was optimistic about Deng being back on the floor. He's missed the past two games because of ongoing issues with the torn ligament in his left wrist.
"I want to see how he feels after practicing today," Thibodeau said. "But he went through everything in practice and he felt pretty good."
Bulls backup point guard C.J. Watson did not participate in practice and Thibodeau said he would be re-evaluated after Wednesday morning's shootaround. Watson has been sidelined for the past week and a half because of an ankle injury.
"He's doing a little bit more, but he's not quite there." Thibodeau said. "We'll see [Wednesday] after the shootaround ... there's a possibility. He's doing running and shooting and stuff like that."
Aside from the injuries, Thibodeau and his team are happy about having the chance to face off against the Heat again. The Bulls want to exact some kind of revenge on Miami after losing to the Heat late in January.
"They're an excellent defensive team," Thibodeau said. "LeBron's an excellent defender and their team is excellent so we have to try and attack them before they're set and if they are set then we've got to move them; keep the ball moving and keep our bodies moving. The big thing is taking care of the ball."
Bulls center Joakim Noah put his own spin on the contest. He knows that a lot of fans believe this will be a preview for the Eastern Conference finals later this season.
"It's an important game," Noah said. "Everybody sees it the way they want to see it. Maybe in the standings [it means more], but everybody knows that tomorrow's a big game and we're all excited."