Derrick Rose is not going to play Friday night against the Toronto Raptors: “Rose hasn’t practiced since suffering a minor right hamstring injury on Monday. Coach Tom Thibodeau said Kirk Hinrich would start for Rose. “He has improved, but he’s still not quite there,” Thibodeau said, “We’ll see where he is (Saturday). Each day he has gotten better.” Thibodeau said he could use both Marquis Teague and Mike James as Hinrich’s backups, though he mentioned Teague first. Teague has played just three minutes all season. Thibodeau said the Bulls playing their first set of back-to-back games and facing what on paper is a lesser opponent on Friday didn’t factor into the decision. The Bulls face Central Division rival Indiana at home on Saturday. “Every game is important,” Thibodeau said. “I think that’s misguided when you approach it that way.””
The Houston Rockets have spoken with several teams about a trade involving Omer Asik: “Rival executives say that Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has been active in discussing possible deals for Asik, but his asking price has been too high so far. Morey has been willing to accommodate Asik’s summertime trade request, but has found little traction on possible deals. Unless a team is willing to give the Rockets a frontline player who can help them win in the short-term, Morey is open to acquiring a largely unprotected first-round pick in the loaded 2014 NBA draft, sources said. Beyond the unrest with Asik, the Rockets will be without third-string center Greg Smith, who is expected to miss 10 days because of a sprained knee, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Smith injured his right knee in the Rockets’ victory over New York on Thursday. An MRI on Friday was negative. Houston and Washington did discuss a deal involving Asik, league sources said, but the Wizards ultimately acquired Phoenix’s Marcin Gortat to fill its hole at center. The Rockets had no interest in taking back center Emeka Okafor, who could be lost for the season because of a neck injury.”
Wizards forward Trevor Ariza is set to have an MRI on his injured hamstring: “Trevor Ariza will undergo an MRI to ascertain the severity of a hamstring injury he suffered in Wednesday night’s loss to the Spurs. From the Washington Post: But Ariza felt a tinge in his right leg almost immediately after he took off running toward the basket. Ariza drove and dumped the ball off to Marcin Gortat but collided with Duncan and landed awkwardly. Gortat got fouled on the play and Ariza repeatedly shook his leg and bent it back while standing at the foul line. “I felt a little pop,” Ariza said. “I fell down and threw it to Marc. From then on, I just didn’t feel the same.” The Spurs called timeout shortly thereafter and the sharp pain in his hamstring continued. Coach Randy Wittman was about to replace him but Ariza asked to stay in the game, telling Wittman that he was okay.”
Brandon Jennings is enjoying his fresh start in Detroit: “”It just opened up my eyes,” Jennings told Yahoo Sports of his long wait. “I just realized that I had to get back to focusing on basketball. Basketball had to be the No. 1 priority like it was in high school for me. The first four years in Milwaukee it really wasn’t. “I got a little fame [with] the 55-point game, getting to the playoffs here and there. I lost focus on what was most important.” The 10th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft, Jennings quickly made an impression when he scored 55 points against the Golden State Warriors two weeks into his career. Over the next four seasons he earned a reputation for loving scoring more than setting up his teammates. “Everybody was saying I was a selfish ballplayer and I wouldn’t pass the ball,” Jennings said. Jennings was also outspoken about wanting out of Milwaukee. Coaching and roster changes didn’t persuade him to re-sign, either.”
“I just wanted a new start,” Jennings said. “Seeing a bunch of my teammates leave, Monta [Ellis], J.J. [Redick], Mike Dunleavy, everybody, the coaching staff I’d been around for four years, everything was different. I felt like they were going in a different direction and I felt like I had do the same.”
Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.