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Derrick Rose: ‘My knee is fine,’ will play against Magic

By Dave Fuqua

Jan 9, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) dribbles the ball as Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) defends in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 102-86. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 9, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) dribbles the ball as Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) defends in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 102-86. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls says he is playing tonight against the Orlando Magic. 

Derrick Rose, who has been on what has seemed like an arduously long road to full recovery, says that his knee is fine and he will play against the Orlando Magic tonight. Rose has already missed ten games this year and is beginning to get criticized some for the time he has missed. He is only averaging 28 minutes a game on the year as well.

Even through the hard times early on this year, Rose has still showed some of the quickness and ability that led him to a MVP season in 2011. Rose is leading the team in assists early in the season with 4.8 which is almost two full assists off of his career numbers. His numbers are a bit down overall and that most likely is a result of the lower minutes per game. Rose typically averaged over 36 minutes a game.

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The Bulls have been playing incredible basketball and that has allowed them to rest Rose and hopefully keep the team at full strength for when the playoffs start. The emergence of Jimmy Butler this year, along with the signing of Pau Gasol, have released a large burden of the offensive load off of Rose’s shoulders who has in season’s past been the main offensive answer.

The Bulls increased confidence has a lot of analysts talking about them as a serious contender for the NBA Finals this year and I believe it is a very fair assessment. They will need to make sure they do everything they can to keep the main starters healthy. Head coach Tom Thibodeau will need to begin to cut down on minutes and watch the health of players like Pau Gasol who is 34-years-old and Joakim Noah who is recovering from off-season surgery as well. I believe if the Bulls can get some luck on their side and keep Rose, Butler, Gasol and Noah all healthy we could see them holding up the Larry O’Brien Trophy at the end of the season.

h/t Sports Illustrated

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