Derrick Rose gets good news after an MRI, but Joakim Noah is still on the mend

There haven’t been many happy endings when it comes to Derrick Rose and MRI machines, but one finally occurred on Monday.

Concerned with a lingering soreness in the right knee/hamstring area, the Bulls point guard underwent an MRI before the practice at the Advocate Center, and according to coach Fred Hoiberg, it came back clean.

“There was no structural damage,’’ Hoiberg said. “He participated [in the practice]. We didn’t do a lot of live activity [Monday]. So at this point, he’ll be a game-time decision [Tuesday night against Milwaukee].’’

Basically, as good a news as the Bulls could receive about the often-injured veteran.

“I think more than anything, it was ruling something out with the soreness that he had,’’ Hoiberg said. “Like we talked about [Sunday], the hamstring feels a lot better. The swelling in the knee has gone down. He had a little bit of soreness and weakness when he did some of the testing before the game. So we took a cautious approach.’’

Maybe not as cautious as the one Rose seems willing to take.

According to Rose, the right hamstring tendinitis was a direct result of him trying to keep a loaded schedule over the last few weeks, meaning he was coming into the Advocate Center and getting extra shots up in his downtime.

Basically, trying to put himself on the same schedule that Jimmy Butler keeps.

But bodies are different, especially one that has had three knee surgeries since the 2012 season, and Rose is now realizing that it’s time to back away from that excessive workload.

“It’s me as far as I was coming out three straight times, three straight off-days I came in and I shot instead of sitting out and getting recovery and massages and all that,’’ Rose said. “And it kind of fatigued me.

“But the way I was playing, I didn’t want to miss any games or I didn’t want to go there and not be prepared. And it backfired a little bit as far as me having energy and fatigue in my legs.’’

The three games Rose was talking about was his best three-game stretch of the season, starting with a 19-point performance on Christmas Day in Oklahoma City, followed up by a 25-point performance at Dallas and then 20 points in the win over Toronto on Dec. 28.

The three off-days leading into Christmas was when Rose decided to really up his extra work.

“I just have to figure out my schedule a little bit better,’’ Rose said. “I’d rather have this problem of overworking myself than actually being out there in a game and something happening during the game and something serious. If anything, I just have to cut back a little bit more.’’

What that means for Rose short-term is he will be looked at again before the Tuesday morning shootaround, and was considered day-to-day in returning to the court this week.

In the five games without Rose this season, the Bulls have gone 4-1 coincidentally.

As far as the news on Joakim Noah and the small tear he suffered in his left shoulder, he will remain out for now, but will be evaluated daily.

“We’re still not comfortable with Jo,’’ Hoiberg said. “If he gets his arm in a vulnerable position, it could cause some … I don’t know if damage, but he’s just not quite ready is what I’m trying to say.

“I guess the thing [doctors were] going to look at after the two weeks is if it was going to take surgery to repair it. And it’s definitely not going to take that.’’