Derrick Rose plays 5-on-5 in practice

Coming back from an ACL injury, even the smallest feats can feel like big ones.

For what is believed to be the first time since the injury, Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose participated in 5-on-5 drills with his teammates at practice.

Rose has been sidelined from game action since April 28th of 2012, the night he tore his ACL against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Bulls have held their own without Rose and currently sit at the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference with a 30-22 record.

By his own admission, Rose has said he’s “far away” from returning to the floor. Reports from today’s practice are a little more promising, however.

Jon Greenberg of ESPNChicago.com has the story:

“He did what everyone else did,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Just a normal practice.”

Joakim Noah smiled after describing Rose’s practice participation as “Just a little bit. Not too much.”

Rose, who tore his ACL in the first game of the 2012 playoffs, made waves last week when he told local reporters that if he wasn’t completely healthy, he would be fine with missing the entire season.

All season long, the Bulls have told reporters that Rose is right on schedule with his rehab work as reporters speculated on a post-All Star return. That didn’t change Monday during the team’s first post-All-Star break practice.

“He’s doing what he should be doing,” Thibodeau said. “He’s focused on his rehab, doing more and more. We just have to be patient. When he’s ready, he’ll go.”

Both the Bulls and Rose are handling this the right way. Rose is the franchise and one of the best players in basketball, so rushing him back would be foolish. Rose shouldn’t have to adhere to Adrian Peterson or Iman Shumpert or anyone else’s timeline — he should be allowed to heal at his own pace. If anything, Rose should be praised for being honest with his evaluation of his current capabilities. That’s something that’s pretty uncommon among athletes at any level.

Aside from all that, it must have felt good for Rose to be back on the court with his teammates. ACL rehab is more monotonous than anything else, and time crawls when you’re not able to play the game you love. Getting a little floor time in is a great step for Rose, both mentally and physically. We don’t know how close he is to coming back, but he’s making steps in the right direction. That’s what counts.