Rose sat out the fourth quarter of Friday's loss to Cleveland, but continues to show that he's getting closer to full health after missing most of the preseason with an ankle injury.

"I'm getting there, very close (to 100 percent)," he said. "My ankle isn't really hurting any more. I'm cutting well and jumping a little bit higher."

--Rookie forward James Johnson sat out consecutive games against Milwaukee and Detroit. With the Bulls already playing shorthanded due to injuries, this stretch seemed to be an ideal opportunity to get Johnson some experience. He finally saw 22 minutes against Cleveland on Friday.

"I need to do a better job and get him in the game," coach Vinny Del Negro admitted. "I think he can help us in certain areas. He's young, he's going to make mistakes. But I think the last two or three weeks, he's putting a lot of extra work in and his attitude and his approach to things has been really good."

QUOTE TO NOTE: "He's a great point guard. He's a great player. I love watching Derrick play, man, he's unbelievable. All he's going to do is continue to get better -- with every game, with every practice. Hopefully in the 2012 Olympics, he can be a part of that team and have some fun." -- Cleveland star LeBron James, giving Bulls G Derrick Rose a plug for the Olympic team.