DEERFIELD, Ill. - Two days after his career-low two-point outing in the Bulls thrilling overtime win over the Heat, in which he shot a nightmarish 1-for-13 from the field, Derrick Rose claimed he had amnesia.
"It was just one of those games, said the reigning league MVP following the Bulls Saturday-afternoon practice at the Berto Center, after which the team left for Detroit in advance of Sundays game against the Pistons. I forgot about that game and its on to the next one.
We have a good team. Only thing I can take from it, continued Rose. Of course I didnt play up to the ability I can play at and we still found a way to win the game. Weve got a deep team.
Rose, who watched film of Thursdays win with Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau after practice said he was Just seeing how they were defensively and how open people were on the weak side. Her wore a thick wrap around his right ankle and though he was a full participant in Saturdays session, he admitted that the injury severely hampered him against Miami.
When your ankles hurting, you cant move. You know how a sore ankle is. Bone is tender, cant get around like that or you tend to walk around, he acknowledged. When I was out there, it was definitely sore. An ankle injurys definitely going to be sore. If you play basketball, you would know that. But right now, its getting better and hopefully Ill be able to make some shots tomorrow.
Added Thibodeau, the perceived frontrunner for the leagues top-coaching honors for the second straight season: Rose is doing great. He came in yesterday, got a lot of work in yesterday. Hes feeling really good.
After two supbar performances since returning from a strained right groin that kept him out of 12 consecutive contests - he scored 29 points, but shot only 8-for-26 from the field in an Easter Sunday overtime loss at New York before sitting out Tuesdays home win over the Knicks with the ankle sprain, then returning for Thursdays victory - Rose was optimistic about his chances of bouncing back strong in the near future.
NBA
Its getting better every day and improving. Im just trying to work on my health, stay positive, like I always say, and keep my spirits up, he said. Shooting, running, shooting off the dribble, things like that to keep my rhythm up. Just try to get back quicker, just playing one-on-one, stuff like that.
Roses conditioning is all right. During the game, it didnt bother me. I think Ive been running enough. Beginning of the season, even when I was out with the groin injury, I took probably a week or something off. Then, I was running a little bit, working on my cardio in the pool and I think Im all right, he continued. Its possible that Rose plays more minutes in the Bulls final seven games of the season, yeah. I would love to. Its really up to Thibs, to see how much hes going to play me.