Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau ruminates on playing without Derrick Rose

The Chicago Bulls will be without star Derrick Rose for a good portion of their 2012 season, but for them, it's nothing new. As noted by K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, Rose missed 27 games with various injuries last season, so the team is acclimated to being without him, though obviously they'd prefer him back.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau spoke on Rose's absence and what it means for the team:

"Derrick is a great player, but this is not a new thing for us," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "He missed half of last season. We found a way to do it last year. And I expect us to find a way to do it this year. This is about the players we have available. (Richard Hamilton) has been a big-shot maker his whole career. Carlos has been a big-shot maker. Luol has hit a lot of big shots for us. We have several guys who are capable."

The Bulls will get their exhibition season started on Tuesday against the Memphis Grizzlies. They're spending Monday practice giving multiple players looks and Thibodeau said that he'll be using more players than usual in the first preseason game for evaluation purposes.

They need to find out what works and what doesn't work without Rose in the lineup, as he's guaranteed to miss the first half of the season. Rose's absence was set at eight-to-12 months following his knee surgery, so guys like Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer will be heavily counted on.