Derrick Rose is no stranger to injury. The point guard has dealt with his share of issues over the course of his career, which means he proceeds with caution when an injury occurs. Rose will be critical to the Chicago Bulls' playoff run and he knows it, which is why he has no plans of rushing a return to the court following a hamstring problem.
Rose has been out with hamstring tendinitis, leaving the Bulls are without their star point guard, Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic along with Joakim Noah, who is sitting out the rest of the year. That leaves the Bulls without three starters during a critical point in the season. Naturally, Rose is being criticized for his decision to sit while his hamstring heals, something head coach Fred Hoiberg is defending.
"Look, nobody wants to be out there more than Derrick does," Hoiberg said. "I know that. I talk to him every day. He cannot explode off that leg. Working him out, you can see it. He's limping. He's favoring the other leg. The last thing you want is for Derrick to be out there thinking about the leg and injury and if he can push off or not. He's made progress. He's doing a good job coming in here a couple times a day getting treatment on his leg."
Rose is set to play in Tuesday's game against the Miami Heat, a matchup that will be a factor in deciding the Eastern Conference playoff standings, as both teams are fighting for position. Rose has missed 10 games total this year including three for the hamstring problem. Players like Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson are stepping up in his place.
The point guard has heard the criticism surrounding his decision to sit games when feeling hurt. He told the media that he is making his health a top priority with free agency around the corner. "Nah. If I can't play I'm not going to play,'' Rose said. "It's a process, like I said.''
The Bulls have a very small margin for error over the next few months. The team is aware a lot is on the line with the playoffs approaching. Gibson told the media that the Bulls need to focus and not use injuries as an excuse for poor play.
"We know what we got," Gibson said. "We understand personnel right now. We just know that we got to play harder and we can't mess up."
