National Basketball Association

Bulls G Rose recovering from ulcers

Published Jan. 27, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Derrick Rose plans to cut back on the spices.

The Bulls' star point guard is recovering from stomach ulcers he believes his diet caused and hopes to play when Chicago hosts the Orlando Magic on Friday.

Rose said his energy is "kind of low. But I should be all right."

He said he started experiencing heartburn on Monday and still is having difficulty eating, drinking and swallowing. He initially thought he had stomach flu, but doctors at Rush University Medical Center found two ulcers on Wednesday.

Rose said they're not sure what caused the problem. But he blamed it on spicy food, saying, "That's the thing I'm going with."

He has also been bothered lately by an aching back, so a three-day break in the schedule came at a good time.

Meanwhile, center Joakim Noah was looking forward to having the cast on his right hand taken off on Monday. He had a pin in his thumb removed earlier in the week.

"I just want to come back as soon as possible," said Noah, who has been sidelined since mid-December with a torn ligament. "As soon as my hand is healthy, I want to be back regardless of what game it is."

Also on Thursday, the Bulls assigned forward James Johnson to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League.