Carmelo Anthony: Stop Rushing Derrick Rose Back
By Josh Hill
One of the biggest stories heading into the NBA postseason surrounds the playing status of Chicago Bulls superstar Derrick Rose. Last postseason Rose tore his ACL and hasn’t played since, despite fans hoping for a return in 2013. At first, the date for Rose’s return was ambiguously placed around the end of February and the beginning of March. But we’ve been continuously hit with reasons why Rose can’t play and patience is starting to wane.
Rose has stated again and again that while he may be physically ready to return, he’s not there mentally and he doesn’t want to hit the hardwood until he’s ‘110 percent’. Rose is notoriously a perfectionist and his Stanley Kubrick way of going about his return is frustrating to those he’s keeping on the outside. Carmelo Anthony may not be in the know when it comes to Rose’s status, but he does have an opinion and he thinks people need to back off.
“I wish y’all would stop rushing Derrick back,” Anthony said, via ESPNChicago.com. “Please. He shouldn’t come back until he’s about 110 percent ready. I don’t think he should come back if he’s not ready to go out there and play. If he can’t compete at a high level, then what’s a couple more months going to do? What’s two more months going to do? I don’t think he should come back, and that’s just my opinion.”
Anthony brought the issue up before the Knicks showdown with the Rose-less Bulls on Thursday night. The Knicks ended up losing the game, which supports the theory that the Bulls are a solid team even without Rose in the lineup. But it’s that very thing that has fans clamoring for his return, as the line of thinking remains if the team is this good without him, imagine how they’d be with him.
“I really don’t know where he’s at with his rehab and stuff like that, but I feel bad for him because I know he’s got to deal with that every day, he’s got to deal with that question,” Anthony continued. “And nobody really knows on the outside what he’s really going through, what his body is going through. So until he’s 100 percent right, I would hope he would sit out.”
There is hope that with the Bulls locking up a playoff spot that Rose will make his triumphant return on the NBA’s grandest stage. There would be no better way to return than right before a Chicago Bulls-Miami Heat showdown, but at this point Rose could return against the Charlotte Bobcats and it would be a big deal for Chicago.