It's all about adjusting to opponents' adjustments

Derrick Rose's lane to the basket is looking more and more like a Chicago expressway during rush hour as teams try to move big bodies in the rookie point guard's way. Rose is averaging 18.2 points but only 14 over the last three games.

The Bulls (11-12) will try to reverse the trend tonight at Charlotte, the first of four games in five nights.

''With the way our offense is set up, Derrick is going to get into the lane, and Derrick shoots the ball better than anybody thought,'' coach Vinny Del Negro said. ''So if you go under on him, we'll set the screen a little bit lower and make you pay for that. Teams do one thing, and we combat it. You're always making adjustments, trying to figure it out.''

Rose is shooting a team-high 49 percent, including 33 percent from three-point range.

''They're throwing different things at him like they do all good point guards,'' Del Negro said. ''He'll get to the rim. We have to rebound, run and get into the open court and make him make plays. He's still being aggressive. He's shooting the ball well, and his field-goal percentage is fine.''

Defenders are trying to stop Rose before he can penetrate.

''They're blitzing a little bit, showing high so I won't turn the corner,'' Rose said. ''They take off the help-side corner so they can have like a triangle in the middle.

''We just have to find a way to beat it, run some type of offense that stops them from doing that. I've been working on that in practice, and my veterans have been helping me out.''

Style points

Veteran forward Drew Gooden has been impressed with Del Negro's demeanor.

''He has great patience to be a first-year coach -- probably the best I've seen working with the young guys and giving us a longer leash than sometimes we need,'' Gooden said. ''I've played with some coaches with zero tolerance, real strict, and Vinny's not like that. He's earned respect from us right away, and he respects us.''

Gooden said he understands why Del Negro doesn't hide his frustration at times when something goes wrong during a game.

''Vinny's animated,'' Gooden said. ''He was a competitive player, a hard-nosed player. So it's kind of tough being in a suit and not being out on the court with a jersey on, knowing the play he would have made or a ball he would have dove for, and he can't do it in a suit.''

Hair today

Gooden said even a ''zero-tolerance coach'' couldn't get him to shave his unique beard, which he calls ''The Johnny'' after the facial hair Johnny Depp displayed in ''Pirates of the Caribbean.''

''The 'Johnny' would be here whoever was coaching -- John Wooden, Roy Williams, whoever,'' Gooden said while stroking his beard.

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Tonight

BULLS at bobcats

The facts: 6, CSN, 1000-AM.

The story line: Luol Deng and Larry Hughes were sick and did not practice Monday, but both are expected to play tonight. Deng scored 30 points in a 91-82 victory last December in Charlotte, where the Bulls are 5-2 vs. the Bobcats -- including wins in their last two trips. Brian Hanleye

Photo: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images / Derrick Rose's scoring has dipped as opponents try to stop his penetration. ;