Bulls’ Rose proceeds with caution
Derrick Rose decided to expand his dialogue with the media following Wednesday’s 71-69 loss in Boston.
Until conducting a solo interview with USA Today earlier this week, Rose had not spoken publicly about his recovery from ACL surgery since Oct. 1, the day before training camp opened.
On Wednesday, Rose mentioned the one thing that’s holding him back the most.
“Being able to dunk,” Rose said, according to espn.com. “I can’t dunk, man. I know if I can dunk off stride, I know I’ll be out there playing, but I can’t.
“Right now I’m feeling pretty good, where (I’m) slowly getting back in the mix. The other day we played the 3-on-3, 1-on-1, and I felt good out there. I’m not trying to rush myself, just still trying to be patient and just trying to take my rehab very serious right now.”
Rose also talked about who will have input in deciding when he returns to game action.
“(Agent) B.J. (Armstrong), of course,” Rose said. “People from the organization, (general manager) Gar (Forman), Pax (vice president of basketball operations John Paxson), all them people. Trainers, just people that I will normally be around every day.
“But it’s really on me to make that decision when I’m going to play again, so that’s cool that they left it up to me. I would love to (come back soon). That’s why I approached my rehab and my workout so hard.
“I’m trying to get back on the court as quickly as possible, but if I have anything lingering on, it’s no point.”
Rivers on rash of knee injuries:Boston coach Doc Rivers talked about the reasons why it#146;s going to take Derrick Rose longer to return from ACL surgery than it did Minnesota#146;s Ricky Rubio, New York#146;s Iman Shumpert or Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.#147;We do more cutting. We also are off our feet more,#148; Rivers said, according to csnchicago.com. #147;(John) Stockton, who missed what, one game, I remember talking to him after his career and I told him, #145;Man you had one (heck) of a career without getting injured,#146; and he was a physical player.#147;He said, #145;I made a conscious choice not to leave my feet.#146; He said his rookie year, he sprained his ankle because he tried to jump high. He said, #145;I made a conscious effort from that point on of wanting to play below the rim. I wanted to be a horizontal player instead of a vertical player.#146;#147;I think a lot of those guys who are getting injured are explosive jumpers.#148;In the past three weeks, the Celtics have lost Rajon Rondo and Leandro Barbosa to ACL injuries. Atlanta#146;s Lou Williams is another NBA guard to suffer the injury this season.Garnett refuses rest:Celtics coach Doc Rivers mentioned he gave Kevin Garnett the option of taking Wednesday#146;s game off. Garnett ended up scoring several big baskets in the fourth quarter of the 2-point victory over the Bulls.#147;Everybody#146;s tired. I felt like that was unfair,#148; Garnett said after the contest. #147;If he wasn#146;t going to give everybody the night off, then that wasn#146;t an option. I just came out and gave what I could.#148;Boston scored a combined 19 points in the second and third quarters. That#146;s a franchise record for fewest points in consecutive quarters during the shot-clock era, and the third lowest in NBA history, according to The Associated Press.