Insult was added to injury on Monday night for the Chicago Bulls.
MVP-to-be Derrick Rose landed his foot on that of Hawks guard Jamal Crawford in the final seconds of Chicago’s Game 1 loss, sending the Bulls star hobbling off the court. There was good news Tuesday, however, as X-rays on his left ankle came back negative and no MRI will be needed, according to ESPN.com.
“Don’t know [what happened], just came over, tried to steal the ball,” Rose said. “Twisted it somehow.”
Rose, who sprained his ankle in Game 4 of Chicago’s Eastern Conference quarterfinals matchup with Indiana, looked less than his best for the third consecutive game. Although he scored 25 points, he took 27 shots in the process. Most alarmingly, though, is that his game seems to have been altered by the nagging injury as he took far more perimeter jump shots than his usual explosive drives to the basket.
Rose is listed as day-to-day, but he believes he will be fine for Game 2 on Wednesday.
“I’m not worried about that,” he said. “I think my body is in good hands with my trainer. They do a good job making sure I get treatment every day, all day. I should be all right.
“I’m good. I’m good. I’m getting treatment. There’s no excuses right now. You got to play through injuries. Everybody has injuries probably right now through the playoffs, but they’re fighting through it … [We’re] just trying to win games.”
