Derrick Rose's absence looms over Chicago Bulls

• Derrick Rose tore ACL in playoffs, will miss major chunk of season
• Kirk Hinrich returns to play point guard for Bulls
• Bulls still feature very good supporting cast but lack star

DEERFIELD, Ill. — As Kirk Hinrich arrives at the Chicago Bulls training facility for a morning workout, expecting to be the only one there, he can hear a ball bouncing, echoing through the gym.

He spots star point guard Derrick Rose going through a drill, accompanied by a knee brace and drenched in sweat from the workout.

"That's one of the reasons why I came back here," said Hinrich, who signed as a free agent in the offseason with the Bulls, the team that drafted him.

As Chicago prepares to start the 2012-13 season without Rose, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the first round of last season's playoffs and has been rehabbing since surgery in May, players are emphasizing he is still very much a part of the team.

"It's great to see him out there working hard, to see how bad he wants it and know how much he wants to play. It helps motivate us," said Hinrich, who was a mentor for Rose in his first two seasons in the league. "It's what everybody expected. I didn't expect anything less."

Rose said he has purposely been in the gym to show his teammates the progress he was making.

"I just want to show them that I'm working hard, show them that it's paying off," Rose said. "That's why I come in early, just to let everybody know that I'm all right, take the pressure off.

"I think we can still be good, knowing the character of this team."

Rose's teammates haven't been the only ones to notice his drive to return.

"I don't think that in the 30-plus years I've been in basketball, I've seen an athlete attack his rehab the way that Derrick has," Bulls general manager Gar Forman said.

Rose's return could be as early as February, but Forman doesn't want to put out a specific time frame and made it clear Rose wouldn't be out on the court until he was fully healthy.

The Bulls will have to find their identity without the 2010-11 MVP, something the team was forced to do for 27 games last season with Rose sidelined by lesser injuries.

"You don't lose a great player like Derrick without feeling that," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "I think we can overcome that with our collective effort.

"We went through some of that last year. This is a new year. Our approach to the season is not going to change one bit, whether Derrick is playing or not. ... During the second half of the season, we want to be playing our best basketball. At some point Derrick will be rejoining the team, and then we'll take our shot at the end."

Last season Chicago finished tied for the NBA's best record (50-16) in a lockout-shortened schedule, winning 18 games without Rose.

But after Rose tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in Game 1 of the Bulls' first-round playoff series against the No. 8 seed Philadelphia 76ers, Chicago struggled and lost in seven games.

"Not one individual is going to fill Derrick's shoes," forward Luol Deng said. "I think collectively we understand the situation. ... You have to take what happens and use it as motivation.

"Derrick has been unbelievable with his rehab and focus level. We can all see it."

At training camp, the story line wasn't how the Bulls could challenge the defending champion Miami Heat but how they could tread water with Rose out.

"Usually when we have Derrick and the shot clock gets down to six or seven (seconds), we're searching him out to get the ball because he can make something amazing happen," forward Carlos Boozer said. "I think this year we'll have to do some things different. ... We feel confident that we can hold it down this year, then hopefully go into the playoffs with Derrick healthy and we'll take our chance."

The starters, besides Rose, are all back: Deng, Boozer, Joakim Noah and Richard Hamilton. Sixth man Taj Gibson also returns.

Although the Bulls kept most of the team's core intact, Chicago's roster has been reshaped, mainly with its bench players. The team lost Kyle Korver, Omer Asik, Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Watson to free agency. Hinrich, Nate Robinson, Marco Belinelli, Vladimir Radmanovic, Nazr Mohammed and rookie Marquis Teague will be the new role players.

"Guys on this team understand what we have to do," Gibson said. "We have to step up. We have to hold down the fort until Derrick gets back."

Thibodeau preaches team chemistry, and that will be his top priority as the Bulls integrate a new cast of role players with a veteran-laden group.

"The biggest challenge is going to be to get seven new players on the same page as quickly as possible," Thibodeau said.

"On every team, roles are different, but the work has to be equal. The challenge is building championship-caliber habits."

Rose said he planned to travel with his teammates and continue to show his leadership off the court. He senses the pressure to return but is confident players will rise to the occasion in his absence.

"I think about it every day, certain situations if I come back early," Rose said. "But with or without me, our goal stays the same. With basketball, you can have all the greatest players, but it takes a team to win. The team that won it last year, Miami, was the best team. That's what we need to do."