Thibs: Caution right for Derrick Rose

Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose was ruled out of the team's 94-91 loss in Game 5 of an Eastern Conference semifinal against the Miami Heat, meaning he officially missed the entire season after undergoing ACL surgery on May 12, 2012.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said the team was right to take a cautious approach with its star this season.

"If we were going to make a mistake, we wanted to make the mistake on the side of caution," Thibodeau said. "We feel good about where he is. He has the whole summer to build more confidence and that's the important thing. As we said when he first had the surgery, we weren't going to rush him back, and we held to that. I think it was the smart decision."

After Rose's operation, he was given an 8- to 12-month prognosis by the surgeon and passed the 12-month mark on Sunday.

Bulls forward Taj Gibson said he was not surprised that Rose did not play this season.

"I had a severe MCL sprain and that had me out weeks. He tore his ACL. And me and him were basically doing the same workouts, the same drills, trying to strengthen our legs, and it's tough," Gibson said. "And I still didn't come back all the way, the right way I wanted to come back, but I was able to go out there and basically play and it's even tougher on an ACL because you never know. Anybody can just knock you off. It's unstable. You saw how my knee kept buckling on me. I'm not surprised at all."

Bulls center Joakim Noah admitted the daily questions and speculation about Rose's status were difficult, but applauded Rose for the way he handled the season.

"It was hard. You definitely as a player you want him to come back, but at the same time, you understand that you've got to look at the big picture," Noah said. "I'm really proud of him, actually, because he's dealt with it great with all the pressure coming from a lot of people. I think that the way he handled it was great. I don't think a lot of people could have handled it like that."

Read more http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/stor...bodeau-defends-cautious-approach-derrick-rose

 

What else are they going to say?

I agree with what Thibs said. It was a smart decision.

 

Bulls management's decision not to rush Rose back was certainly a smart decision. While I was disappointed that Rose didn't feel comfortable enough to play in NBA games soon after he was medically cleared, coercion sure wasn't the way to go.

Was Rose's decision not to get into game action this season a smart decision? We'll never know, though I'm sure that many will claim they know.

In any case, I'm glad that this episode in Bulls' history is behind us.

 

Amare has put up games of 7/3 and 4/4 in about 10 MPG for the Knicks, coming back for the playoffs in the 2nd round like Bulls fans might have expected Rose to do.

He's helped them to two losses at Indiana after they went 1-1 at home in the first two games of the series.

I would expect the same kind of performance from Rose for several games, and an equally dismal effect on the team's ability to win.

SMART move.