The Chicago Bulls and their fans are breathing a big sigh of relief with the news that superstar guard Derek Rose appears to have avoided serious ankle injury and has started Game 5 of the best of 7 opening round series against the Indiana Pacers. Rose injured his ankle in the Bulls\’ Game 4 loss though remained in the game playing through the pain. He remained \’questionable\’ until gametime on Tuesday night but early indications were that he was moving well without much, if any, discernable pain.

Rose had skipped the morning shootaround as a precautionary move but told the media afterwards that his ankle felt much better:

\”It feels totally different. Where [Monday] it was a little stiff, today I\’ve got more motion in it. I know the excitement from the game is going to make everything feel all right.\”

Rose had already decided on Monday that he\’d definitely play, so the improvement was welcome news for coach Tom Thibodeau who took a more cautious tone:

\”He\’s feeling better. We\’ll see how he is before the game. He didn\’t go through practice, but he\’s doing some shooting now.\”

Rose shot some free throws in view of the media near the end of practice. He was wearing an extra brace on his ankle but said that he was hoping to not need a painkilling shot before the game:

\”I really don\’t know. I really don\’t need it right now. I really don\’t like shots, but we will have to see.\”

\”I know when I\’m out there, I\’m not going to think about it. I\’m just going to play the game, and I should be able to knock down some shots today.\”

Despite holding a 3-1 lead, Derek Rose impressed the importance of closing out the series in order to get some rest before the next round:

\”Definitely this game is big because it\’s our next game, but getting rest, it means a lot. We could definitely use it.

\”It\’s very important. If anything, I think that if we come out tonight and be aggressive, I think that it should take care of everything. We haven\’t jumped on them yet, and when we did, we only were up four or six points. So I think if we get a nice cushion, we should be fine.\”

The Chicago Bulls are expected to challenge for the Eastern Conference Championship with Miami and Boston, and the continued good health of Rose will be essential to that. Chicago entered Tuesday\’s Game 5 as a -9 point NBA betting favorite with the total set at 187.