Air apparent steps it up
When it comes to comparisons with Michael Jordan, Derrick Rose stops the talk as soon as he hears it. After all, the rookie appears as humble as he is talented. Yet, Rose did something Saturday in a 104-91 victory over the Indiana Pacers that no Bulls rookie has done since Jordan. Rose scored 23 points, putting him in double figures in his first 10 games. Jordan did the same to start the 1984-85 season.
Bulls notes
Tyrus Thomas entered Saturday shooting 29.3 percent for the season and only 6-for-23 in the previous three games. Coach Vinny Del Negro hasn't told Thomas to stop taking jumpers. ''I don't want to take that away from him because I think he can make that,'' Del Negro said. ''I think it's a confidence thing a little bit. He's got to pick his spots a bit better. Tyrus, if he has good shots and they're in the flow of the game, I want him to shoot them with confidence.'' Thomas missed his first three shots in five minutes Saturday, including two jumpers. ... Derrick Rose said the back spasms he felt before the game Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks are better. ''I'm doing fine. It's just a little stiff now, no pain.'' ... Guard Lindsey Hunter, signed Thursday to a free-agent contract, wasted no time tutoring Rose. ''He was telling me about Jason Kidd [Thursday] and what I was doing wrong. He told me to shoot because he didn't want to come out and defend. He was telling me about [T.J.] Ford [Saturday] and how to stop him on defense. He said that I'm so tall, I should contest the jump shot. Other than that, stay back off him. He gives advice to almost everybody on the team. He's fun to be around.'' ... Hunter's father, Lindsey, was a driving force behind his son coming out of retirement for a 16th season. ''My dad worked at General Motors for 30 years,'' Hunter said. ''He talks to me every day about if you get a chance to play, you should play. He said, 'I worked at a plant for 30 years, and you get to play basketball. So, if you can do that, you do it.' I thought about that and was like, OK.'' ... The Bulls made 16 of their 17 free throws in the first half. ... Ryan Paxson, son of general manager John Paxson and his wife, Carolyn, graduated from the Marines' Camp Pendleton this week and was at the game Saturday in uniform. ''We're just really proud,'' John Paxson said. ''[The Marines] have a discipline about them that is unique. You complete [training], you should be proud of yourself.''
