There are two words that give Bulls fans that queasy feeling in their collective stomach: Derrick Rose, injured. Prior to Rose tearing his ACL in the 2012 NBA Playoffs, the point guard suffered a slew of injuries that caused him to miss over a third of the season.
On Monday night, Rose suffered what’s being termed by the team as a minor hamstring strain in his right leg. The point guard downplayed the injury and says it’s nothing to be concerned about, but given how hard he’s worked to get himself back on the court again, any news of an injury – especially to his legs – is a downer.
"I feel bad for him. He works his butt off every day, whether it’s rehab, lifting, shooting, whatever it is," said teammate Carlos Boozer. "You guys see him out there. He puts the time in, so I feel bad for him. Hopefully whatever he’s got going on right now isn’t that bad. I hope the severity of it isn’t too bad."
Rose was pulled from the game after his driving layup that put the Bulls up seven points on the visiting Cavaliers late in the fourth quarter. After a timeout and Kirk Hinrich replaced him in the lineup with three minutes left to play in regulation, social media website Twitter blew up with talk of what was wrong with Rose.
The Bulls are four games into an 82-game schedule and the team has been using extra precaution when it comes to the health of the players on the roster. Chicago doesn’t play again until Friday and Rose has said that he’d like to play, but Boozer said that no matter the severity, he should be allowed the time to get himself healthy and not try to rush back because of pressure from the outside.
"Obviously our whole thing this season is the long run of the season. Right now, it’s still Week 2 of the NBA season, so hopefully it’s not that serious. But we’d like him to be healthy, just for him,” Boozer said. “He had a tough year last year, a lot of pressure on him. You guys, you’re all over him this year. Give the kid a break. He does a lot of stuff that’s great for us and us as his teammates, we’ve got his back, we support him every day and hopefully it’s not that bad of an injury.”
