Jan. 22--Mike Dunleavy is a gametime decision and Joakim Noah is out for Thursday's home game against the Spurs.
But there's good news on the medical front. The Bulls have cleared Derrick Rose to play extended minutes if needed, sources said.
Rose is averaging 32.8 minutes in 10 January games. That's up from 30 minutes in December and 25.9 in November. Rose logged a season-high 37 minutes, 6 seconds in Saturday's loss to the Hawks.
"I feel great," Rose said recently of his health.
Initially, the Bulls' medical staff limited Rose because he was returning from back-to-back, season-ending knee surgeries and he had played just 10 NBA games in the last two seasons. But Rose has started to string games together. And while it's unlikely his average minutes per game will increase significantly, coach Tom Thibodeau has been given the green light to play Rose more.
Rose has played the entire first quarter of recent games, a change in his previous rotational turns.
"I think the more he plays, the better it's going to be," Thibodeau said.
Noah will miss his fourth straight game with his sprained right ankle. Dunleavy, who has missed 10 straight games with his jammed right ankle, may sit one more given the Bulls begin a back-to-back set on Thursday. The Bulls are in Dallas on Friday.
