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Dante Exum is looking forward to a chance to matchup against one of his NBA heroes — but the opportunity to go head-to-head with Bulls guard Derrick Rose might not happen tonight.

Rose is recovering from a hamstring injury and is listed as a game-time decision for tonight's 7:30 tipoff at EnergySolutions Arena. The Bulls will be without forward Taj Gibson and the availability of Pau Gasol and Kirk Hinrich remains up in the air. As for Rose, the point guard told reporters that he was close to a return, but wasn't sure if it would happen tonight against the Jazz or in the Bulls' next game against the Denver Nuggets.

For Rose, who has suffered season-ending injuries in consecutive years, there have been a number of smaller issues that have popped up already this season. And he drew some criticism earlier this year when he said he was thinking "long-term" about his health after basketball.

"I feel I've been managing myself pretty good," Rose told reporters earlier this month. "I know a lot of people get mad when they see me sit out. But I think a lot of people don't understand that when I sit out, it's not because of this year. I'm thinking about long term. I'm thinking about after I'm done with basketball, having graduations to go to, having meetings to go to. I don't want to be in my meetings all sore or be at my son's graduation all sore just because of something I did in the past. Just learning and being smart."

According to a report from ESPN Chicago, Rose said this morning that he no longer has pain in his hamstring but could sit out tonight because of muscle fatigue issues.

Jazz coach Quin Snyder said Monday that teams have become smarter about rest and managing injuries, and believes that good practices improve long-term success.

"I think with the science of everything, we're much more able to kind of determine where guys are physically. It makes sense to react to that when appropriate," he said, pointing to San Antonio and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich's efforts to rest his players during the season.

Even with the Jazz, the third youngest squad in the NBA, Snyder is keeping in mind how to best use his players so that they will be more productive at the end of a long season and even into coming years.

"It's something I'm aware of," he said, adding that his second unit also benefits by monitoring minutes. "Especially for us, we've got to let our young guys make some mistakes and develop. Sometimes it's hard. Certain guys, if they could play 48 minutes, you'd be happy with that. But it takes a toll."

— Aaron Falk