''I felt way better,'' Rose said. ''I could have practiced the whole practice, but they told me they didn't want me sore [today].''

If he doesn't suffer any setbacks, Rose appears to be on target to play Thursday in the Bulls' regular-season opener against the San Antonio Spurs.

''I ran [Wednesday] and woke up [Thursday] and it wasn't sore,'' he said. ''I told them that I wanted to practice. At first, they were telling me not to practice and just run. But I told them I wanted to get out there. I didn't get hurt, and my teammates were happy I was back out there with them a little bit.''

Whether Rose will play when the Bulls host the Washington Wizards in their preseason finale tonight at the United Center won't be determined until just before the game.

''Let's just see how he feels,'' coach Vinny Del Negro said. ''I don't want to jump the gun on him. Let's just take it a day at a time, see how he feels. He's got to get some practice in before we put him out there. He got a little practice [Thursday]. Let's see how he feels [today].''

Even if he's fine, Rose might be held out as a precaution.

''I asked them if I could get some minutes [against the Wizards], at least one or two,'' he said. ''But they said that they'll see.''

What might work in favor of playing time for Rose is that Kirk Hinrich (elbow) and Jannero Pargo (back) are fighting through nagging injuries. If Rose is fine and the others could use rest, Del Negro might opt to play Rose limited minutes.

''I want to see how Kirk feels, I want to see how Jannero feels and I want to see how Derrick feels,'' Del Negro said. ''We're a little bit weak in terms of the point guards. Lindsey [Hunter] might have to get the rust off a little bit and get some WD-40 and get him out there.

''We'll just play it by ear, see who comes in [tonight] and gives me some minutes. I want to look at the big picture and make sure we have some good practices next week to get ready for the difficult part of our opening stretch.''

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