Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose left Tuesday's game against the Denver Nuggets after re-aggravating his hamstring injury. Given coach Tom Thibodeau's seemingly annoyed response when asked about Rose's fatigue Monday night against the Utah Jazz, is it possible the head coach is finally getting fed up with Rose's inability to stay healthy?
Rose logged only 10 minutes of playing time Tuesday night before his hamstring tightened up, which forced him to sit out the remainder of the game. Thibodeau acknowledged he didn't want to take any chances with Rose's health, but is Thibodeau starting to get annoyed by Rose's chronic injuries?
After missing four straight games because of a pulled hamstring, Rose returned Monday night against Utah and played for 25 minute. Rose logged 18 points and 5 assists, but fatigue - he did miss more than a week of games - seemed to be somewhat of an issue in the second half. When asked about it, Thibodeau sounded frustrated and said Rose just needed to "get out there and play."
"Oh I don't know. Jesus. He's got to get out there and play," Thibodeau told reporters after Monday's game, via ESPN. "I thought he did a lot of good things. You could see he's not real comfortable with the ball yet, but that will come. When Derrick strings some games together he's going to take off. He's got to go. That's the bottom line. He's got to go."
Thibodeau indicated he didn't want to take any chances with Rose's hamstring tightening up on Tuesday, but at least one NBA analyst believes the head coach is in fact beginning to get annoyed and wants more out of Rose.
"This is one of the first times we've seen genuine frustration from Thibodeau over Rose's inconsistent presence on the floor due to injuries," Basketball Insiders' Yannis Koutroupis wrote, referring to Thibodeau's remarks made after Monday's game. "In the past, Thibodeau has been very supportive and understanding of Rose's decisions not to play, but after basically two years without him, Thibodeau appears to want Rose to push himself a little more."
It's uncertain at this time how long Rose will be sidelined.
