ROTATION: Starters -- Point guard Derrick Rose, Shooting guard Ben Gordon, Small forward Larry Hughes, Power forward Drew Gooden, Center Joakim Noah. Bench -- Guard Thabo Sefolosha, Guard Kirk Hinrich, Guard Lindsey Hunter, Forward Andres Nocioni, Forward Luol Deng, Forward Tyrus Thomas, Forward Michael Ruffin, Forward Cedric Simmons, Center Aaron Gray.
PLAYER NOTES: --F Drew Gooden continued to show a nice shooting touch against San Antonio, producing 20 points and 12 rebounds. In the past four games, he's averaged 19.3 points and 10.3 rebounds, while shooting just above 50 percent from the field.
--G Derrick Rose had a reality check Wednesday against the Spurs. He started out fine, but managed to tally just one basket in the second half before finishing with 10 points, six rebounds and six assists. He was outscored by San Antonio's rookie point guard, George Hill, 19-10.
--G Ben Gordon had a hot hand for a while in San Antonio. He piled up 23 points and hit 9-of-16 shots, but scored his last basket at the 5:37 mark of the third quarter.
MEDICAL WATCH:
--G Kirk Hinrich (torn ulnar collateral ligament in right thumb) had surgery Tuesday and is expected to be sidelined for three months. Hinrich hurt the thumb while trying to swipe the ball out of Amare Stoudemire's grasp in a win over Phoenix on Nov. 7.
--F Michael Ruffin (sprained left ankle) has been sidelined since the second day of training camp. After being released and re-signed, he has been inactive for every game in the regular season.
