CHICAGO -- Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose suffered a torn ACL in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season, the team announced Saturday.
Rose suffered the injury while trying to leap off his left foot in the lane with 1:22 left in Saturday's playoff game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Rose was helped off the court before the Bulls sealed their 103-91 Game 1 win. Rose had 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists when he was injured.
Team medical personnel immediately rushed out and tended to Rose for several minutes as he was writhing in pain near the baseline before helping him to the locker room. Rose was taken to the hospital, where MRI results confirmed the Bulls' worst fears.
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau was asked about his philosophy of keeping his top players in late-game situations when the outcome is not in doubt. It's been a recurrent line of questioning for Thibodeau, especially concerning Rose, who has battled several injuries.
"I don't work backwards like you guys do," Thibodeau said. "The score was going the other way."
The mood in the Bulls' locker room was not befitting a victorious team.
"I just started saying a prayer," said Bulls backup guard John Lucas, who will now see additional playing time with Rose out.
"It's like the saddest win," Bulls shooting guard Kyle Korver said. "Regardless, we've got to pick ourselves up. We've played a lot of games this year without him. So maybe it was just getting us ready for this."
Game 2 is Tuesday.
The 23-year-old Rose played in just 39 of the Bulls' 66 regular-season games because of turf toe, back spasms, pulled groin and foot injuries. He hasn't played more than two games in a row since suffering a foot injury on March 12.
"It's tough," Carlos Boozer said. "It seems like he just can't catch a break. ... I just feel for him, man. He really can't catch a break this season."
"I definitely hope he keeps his spirits up," 76ers guard Evan Turner said in a text message Saturday night. "You never want to see that happen, especially to someone who represents the league so well. But prayers go to his speedy recovery."
Chicago Bulls Blog
Follow Derrick Rose and the Bulls.
Blog » Latest on Rose » Pics
Rose becomes the fifth player named to Team USA's 20-man preliminary roster to have been ruled out before May. Orlando's Dwight Howard (back), Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge (hip) and the Los Angeles Clippers' Chauncey Billups (Achilles) also suffered serious injuries during the lockout-shortened season requiring surgery, while the Dallas Mavericks' Lamar Odom has been eliminated from contention for this summer's Olympic team because of the longstanding struggles that prompted the Mavericks to deactivate Odom for the rest of the season.
But Team USA chairman Jerry Colangelo told ESPN.com earlier this week, before Rose's injury, that no additional names would be added to the 15 that remain on the preliminary roster, from which coach Mike Krzyzewski's 12-man squad bound for London will be announced in June.
Because Team USA is so deep at point guard -- with the Clippers' Chris Paul, New Jersey's Deron Williams and Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook still available -- Rose's injury won't necessarily force USA Basketball officials to re-think their plans.
The greater concern for Colangelo and Krzyzewski continues to be the frontcourt rotation, with the injuries to Howard and Aldridge leaving only one true center on the preliminary roster (New York's Tyson Chandler) and a few big men presumed capable of playing center internationally: Minnesota's Kevin Love, Miami's Chris Bosh and the Clippers' Blake Griffin.
Information from ESPNChicago.com's Nick Friedell, ESPN.com's Marc Stein and The Associated Press contributed to this article.
0 comments:
Post a Comment