Kyle Korver's message on Facebook after Rose's injury:
"Right about now, the disbelief has faded, anger has subsided and were all wondering... why? Why. Why. Why Derrick, again? Derrick is more than an MVP to our team. He's our friend, our brother he inspires us to be the very best we can be, just by who he is and how hard he plays. That he has spent so much time this year hurt, was frustrating. Now that he is out for the rest of the season, well its... just plain sad. No one is to blame; what happened, did. We send him our prayers, our love, our good wishes that he heals and comes back stronger, better, healthier than ever before.
Bulls fans. Now is not the time to ask why or to get bitter. Now is the time to refocus and ask "How are we going to win this Championship?" We have the best Team in the league. This season has proven, we are a TEAM and it has taken us ALL to have the best record. Lets focus on whats ahead. This is an incredible opportunity for All of Us to step up and make it happen. We're all gonna have to work harder and smarter. We are all gonna have to believe in ourselves. That we are more than the sum of our parts. We need YOU to believe with Us. We need You to believe for Us. We are going to keep going strong. One quarter, one game, one round at a time. Until its over. That's how we're gonna do it."
I STILL BULLIEVE and if you're a TRUE BULLS FAN you do to!
As we all know by now, Derrick Rose has a torn ACL that will sideline him for the rest of the post-season, the Olympics, and perhaps even the beginning of next season. The injury occurred when the star planted a jump-step that strained his left knee. That question that Chicago (and the nation for that matter) is now asking the reigning Coach of the Year -- Why was Derrick Rose still in a game that was pretty much over?
This is what he said when asked that question in the post-game press conference... (0-19secs)
"I don't work backwards like you guys, the score was going the other way"
At the time the 76ers has closed in on a 20 point lead and cut it down to 12. Rose does, well.. did need to reacquire how to close properly with the unit because he hadn't played in more than 3 straight games since March 12th.
Some people are saying that he was in their to get his triple double (23 pts, 9asts, 9reb), but lets be honest- he wasn't in it for the triple double. Thibs would not keep a player in for stats, there must have been another purpose. You could see that Rose, himself, was not concerned with getting a triple-double as he took the ball inside, he was actually looking to shoot it--until of course, he tore his ACL. What I still find amazing about that play is that Rose, even after he plants the jump-step(where he get injured) and goes back up again, he double clutches and is able to make a pass to Boozer (who gets it to Korver for a missed 3 pointer) to still keep the play alive while he is ignited by the pain in his left leg.
As he lays down on the court, alone, the UC crowd begins to chant what now seems to be a wailing M-V-P chant.
12 point lead -- 82 seconds left in the game-- That's when it happens...
Thibs has been questioned by the reporters, taken apart by sports radio hosts, and confused the heck out of some fans on the issue of keeping in star players at the end of a game several times before, this time the fear became reality.
So, was it wrong for him to keep in Rose -- from my perspective it wasn't. I understand that the fan base is split on this issue right now but Thibs did exactly what an NBA coach in the playoffs should do -- SHUT DOWN that other team to the point where they feel like they have absolutely no shot in the series.
The Sixers sure as hell were not going to win that game, and many would say why not have the Bench Mob out there and protect the lead-- a win by 6 pts or by 20, a win is a win, right? True..in the regular season when all that matters is winning that ONE particular game. In the playoffs though, momentum travels from one game to another. You must do everything you can in order to completely shut down the other team to where they feel like they have absolutely no chance. I picked this YouTube clip because even Reggie Miller (TNT analyst) talks about the same thing. Listen to what he says as Rose brings up the ball, "The Bulls are trying to send a message and a Knock-Out punch."
Every playoff victory has a meaning, from the how you open it, how you execute it, to how you close it. You cannot close a game out in a weak fashion, and give the slightest hope to your opponent to even think, that maybe not this game, but in the next game they might be able to make a come-back.
Rose (in the hoody) walking into his Trump Tower Loft wearing a full-length walking brace on his left leg (Video From: Fox32 News Chicago)
**Ironic how the angle the video was shot from at the end there you see a caution sign labeled: PLEASE WATCH YOUR STEP (its a little hard to see but its there)**
Would I rather has lost game 1 and still have a healthy Derrick Rose- without a doubt. But what's done is done. Derrick Rose is a causal user of the jump-step and lands with an immense amount of force all the time. The injury occurred on no physical contact between him and a player. Maybe all the injuries that he has been through this season might have been an aid in this injury, but to me it looks like this one might have been inevitable. I understand that it would have been easily prevented had he just been sitting on the bench, but until when? Maybe the next game, on the next jump-step, he would have injured it, maybe not. The only thing that I'm sure about is that injuries are a part of the game and they could happen at any point in any game.
Rose will be back next season for sure. Will he ever re-gain the same amount of explosiveness what we saw in his MVP season? Maybe not right away, but when he has physically healed back to 100%, the question then is will he heal mentally back to 100% where he is comfortable to making such acrobatic and gravity defying plays again. Chicago should remember that we have a star, we are fortunate that he is still young and can/and will come back just as fierce as before and that the M-V-P will once again be the MVP one day. We all also fortunate to have a young core team, with the best bench in the league that will be around for years to come...but I'm not thinking about the future just yet.
I STILL BULLIEVE. (AND IF YOU DONT-- well...I won't be rash online)
