Derrick Rose ruled out vs. Pacers

— -- CHICAGO -- Derrick Rose will not play Saturday night against the Indiana Pacers as he continues to recover from a strained left hamstring.

"He's better today, but he'll be out tonight,"  Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said after Saturday's shootaround. "It's day to day. He's a lot better today than he was (Friday). We'll see how it goes."

The Bulls continue to be cautious with Rose, who has already missed four games this season because of sprained ankles, and came into the year having only played 10 games over the last two years because of two serious knee injuries.

"Look, he was out for two and a half years," Thibodeau said. "So you're coming back, you're playing in a physical game. So there's going to be some times where he gets banged up a little bit -- sprained ankle is sprained ankle. It could happen at any time. It could have happened his MVP year, it probably did happen.

"But when you're out that long, you're not used to that. Same thing -- a hamstring. He needs a little time. It's not anything (major). He said he's feeling a lot better today."

It remains unclear whether Rose will be able to play on Monday when the Bulls start a two-week, cross-country road trip in Los Angeles against the Clippers.

"As soon as he's ready," Thibodeau said. "If he needs time, we're going to give him time. We just got to be patient. It's going to work out. He'll be fine."