Derrick Rose played Monday night against the Detroit Pistons. The dynamic guard scored 24 points and dished out a couple of spectacular assists, but the day started out like many other days over the last couple seasons.

It was another game day in which his fellow Chicago Bulls were left wondering whether he or Kurt Hinrich will start. And while the Bulls are saying all the right things about how it doesn’t bother them and they’re confident he’ll get back on the court, there’s no world in which this kind of distraction could be a good thing.

Actually, his teammates might be used to it all.

And yet, to this point, the Bulls have proven they’re a team that may not need their star guard night-in, night-out. Chicago is 5-2, and hasn’t lacked for Rose’s scoring: the team ranks sixth in the league with 104.3 points per game despite playing without Rose for four of their seven games. By comparison, last season the team finished last in the league in points scored, a dreadful 93.7 per game.

Indeed, the first tenth of the season has suggested the Bulls can afford to wait for Rose more than they ever were last season. At press, the Bulls have NBA futures odds of +550 (according to TopBet before Monday’s game against Detroit), and the team has looked deadly, in part because of free agent signing Pau Gasol (18.6 PPG) and a breakout start for Jimmy Butler (19.6 PPG).

If anything, the issue that has plagued the Bulls this season is something Rose can’t be of particular help with: rebounding (though, admittedly, Rose’s 3.8 rebounds per game is nothing to scoff at for a point guard). The Bulls have been out-rebounded in six-straight games, and suffered noticeably from the lack of presence on the glass in their close loss to the Celtics on Saturday.

In a crucial final-minute possession against Boston, the Bulls were beaten to a defensive rebound by Kelly Olynyk, ultimately losing 106-101. Part of the issue was that Joakim Noah was on the bench because of what coach Tom Thibodeau called “restrictions,” but that should be no excuse: this is a team loaded with talented bigs. Rose or no, they should be getting it done on the boards.