Chicago Bulls’ Season Continues to Dwindle vs. Denver Nuggets
By Joseph Crevier
@JosephMCrevier
Stephen Dunn-Getty Images
Headed into the 2014-15 season, the Chicago Bulls had high hopes of competing for a championship with the additions of rookies Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott and veteran big man Pau Gasol. Chicago also anticipated a healthy Derrick Rose to return to the hardwood since he tore his ACL two years ago and meniscus soon thereafter. Well, that couldn’t be any further from the case as Rose has struggled to stay on the floor once again due to a few minor injuries including sprained ankles and a sore hamstring.
In retrospect, Rose could have participated in all 15 games this season if he had the will or desire. However, Rose has consistently displayed his true heart, or lack thereof, refusing to play the game he gets paid upward of $20 million for. Injuries are an acceptable excuse, especially the major ones Rose suffered over the past two years. But when he decides to miss games as a precautionary measure when his teammates are out there battling to hold down the fort until he returns, it’s inexcusable. Joakim Noah, Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson, in particular, deserve a ton of credit for dealing with this saga when they realistically have had a shot at a title for a while now. Also, Gasol turned down more money from the Los Angeles Lakers last offseason to join the Bulls with all intentions of Rose competing alongside him. Technically, Rose has been alongside Gasol, but on the bench.
Even Tom Thibodeau seems to be fed up with this nonsense saying this after the win Monday night:
“He’s got to get out there and play. 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.”
Many believe the slack Thibodeau has granted Rose is coming from management Gar Forman and John Paxson, not Thibodeau himself. The two sides have butted heads in the past, so it’s not totally shocking that Thibodeau isn’t exactly in agreeance in this situation.
I’m sure Thibodeau will have some choice words to say after Rose sat out the second half of Tuesday night’s game as a precautionary measure yet again in a game that Chicago fell to the lowly Denver Nuggets. Their 9-6 record isn’t going to cut it for a team with so much talent, so stay tuned.
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