Tyrus: Starting shouldn't be in question

Based on the pregame lineups, Taj Gibson will continue to start at power forward tonight against Orlando. That’s a little surprising, since Tyrus Thomas came off a hip injury to produce 22 points and 13 rebounds last Friday against Minnesota.

Was Thomas surprised he’s not starting?
“A little bit, but he’s the guy who makes decisions,” Thomas said before the game, referring to coach Vinny Del Negro.

“I don’t even think it should be questionable, from what I’ve contributed to the team last season and what I did throughout camp. But like I said, he’s the guy making the decisions. Whatever decision he makes, I still have to go out and play.”

Del Negro came out a few minutes later for his pregame news conference and made it sound as though Thomas will be starting on opening night against the Spurs.

“It’s just Tyrus missed a lot of time (four games),” Del Negro said. “We got in a little bit of a routine (with Gibson). I just want to stay with it right now. We have a lot of practice time before we play on Friday (against Washington), then a lot of practice time before opening night (on Oct. 29). Don’t read anything into that.”

--In other news, Derrick Rose will miss his sixth straight game with a sore right ankle. It probably makes sense to at least rest him until Thursday, then see if he's ready to play in Friday's preseason finale. John Salmons is back in the starting lineup after missing last Friday's contest for the birth of his daughter.

--Before the game, Tyrus Thomas was asked to describe himself as a player and used the words "impact player and game-changer" before thinking better of it and telling reporters to create their own descriptions.