Derrick Rose says he will play in the team's home season-opener Thursday night against the New York Knicks despite missing morning shootaround with a strained neck.
"Hell yeah," Rose told ESPN, when asked if he planned to suit up. "For sure, I know I'm going to play. But it's just that I've got to get loose."
Rose, who missed all the of the 2012 season recovering from a torn ACL, told ESPN he wasn't sure when the neck injury happened but believes it had to have occurred during Tuesday night's road to Miami.
Following Thursday morning's shootaround, coach Tom Thibodeau told ESPN Rose was a game-time decision. Rose dealt with a similar injury three years ago, when he missed a game in November of 2010 because of a sore neck.
"It's just like a crick in your neck," the 2011 MVP told ESPN. "Every day it gets better, but I know when I get going and get to playing and warming up it should be gone.
Rose scored 12 points and dished four assists against LeBron James and the Heat, his first regular season game in more than 18 months.
Rose averaged nearly a point a minute during the preseason and frequently told reporters he feels more "explosive" now than at any point his his career.
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