Nick Friedell, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Melo, Rose questionable for Knicks-Bulls

CHICAGO -- Carmelo Anthony (left knee soreness) and Derrick Rose (illness) are both questionable for Thursday night's game between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls. Anthony, who said his knee started acting up again in Tuesday night's loss to the Dallas Mavericks, admitted he has people close to him trying to get him to shut things down for a few weeks.

"I have multiple people say kind of just shut it down," Anthony said before Thursday's shootaround. "Or just take time off. But at the end of the day, it's hard for me to just do that right now in the midst of what's happening with the team and this season. So just trying to be smart about that."

Anthony said he didn't do much during Wednesday's practice and wanted to warm up Thursday night before making a final decision.

"It gets frustrating," he said. "Not knowing what's going to happen kind of with your body. So for me it's just taking it as the days come."

Thursday's game marks the first time Anthony has been back at the United Center since spurning the Bulls in free agency over the summer. The All-Star small forward said it wasn't weird for him being back in the building he toured alongside Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau and several other members of the organization.

"Not at all, man," Anthony said. "I came here this summer and visited. I had great meetings, but as far as being weird, it wasn't no connection like that for it to be weird. Not at all."

Anthony also noted that he wasn't concerned about being booed by Bulls fans.

"That's not something I'm thinking about right now or worried about," he said. "I got to worry about how I feel. So if I'm thinking about whether somebody's going to cheer for me or boo me, I can't do that right now. I can't worry about that."

Thibodeau isn't concerned about the reunion or what might have been had Anthony signed with the Bulls in the summer.

"I have great respect for what he's done," Thibodeau said. "He's a great talent, but he's a great person, too. I got to know him a little bit through USA [Basketball], coach [Jim] Boeheim. And the things that Coach [Mike] Krzyzewski and Coach Boeheim said about him told me that he would be a great fit for any team. When you look at his career, it speaks for itself. The numbers are incredible. [He] probably doesn't get the credit for being the passer that he is, playmaker. But that's what the people with USA Basketball said that's the role he played for that team. So [I have] great respect for him. Every player has to do what they feel is best for himself and his family, and I think that's what he did. I think he was totally honest with everybody."

If Anthony doesn't play, he will join Knicks big man Amar'e Stoudemire on the bench. The veteran power forward said he was sitting out Thursday's game to rest.

"A lot of games have been crunched into the early part of the season," Stoudemire said. "I've been called on to play a lot more than I was expected to, so it's a smart decision to rest and get ready for another brutal month."

Knicks swingman J.R. Smith did not travel with the team to Chicago as he continues getting treatment for a plantar fascia injury.

As for Rose, Thibodeau said he was not feeling well and did not go through shootaround. Rose has already missed eight games this season because of injury. Bulls forward Taj Gibson also did not participate in shootaround. He is questionable because of a right ankle injury. Bulls center Joakim Noah did go through shootaround and is expected to play after missing the last four games because of lingering ankle and knee problems.

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