Rose skips dancing intros
Some parts of the NBA All-Star Game just weren’t made for Derrick Rose and coach Tom Thibodeau.
One amusing moment was during pregame introductions. When the East starters were announced, they walked up a stairway together onto the stage. LeBron James and Dwight Howard were grinning maniacally and dancing, while Rose stood next to them, as still and stoic as could be.
Asked Monday if James or Howard were mad at him for not dancing, Rose just laughed.
“I really don’t know. That’s just not me,” he said. “There’s a time and place for all that. At that time, I didn’t feel like dancing. I can dance, but at that time, I just didn’t feel like it.”
Thibodeau, meanwhile, was coach of the East squad and saw his defensive reputation take a pounding when the West stars piled up 88 points in the first half.
The West eventually held off a late comeback to win 152-149.
“The defensive playbook, we lost it,” Thibodeau joked. “You put all those great players on the floor, it’s going to be a high-scoring game.”
Rose surprised to sit:The two Bulls in the All-Star Game saw limited action. East starting point guard Derrick Rose played just more than 18 minutes and scored 14 points.Every other starter in the game played at least 30 minutes, with the exception of Lakers center Andrew Bynum, who checked out after the first five minutes for medical reasons.So Rose was not on the floor when New Jersey#146;s Deron Williams helped lead an East comeback late in the contest.#147;At times, I wanted to get in there, but Thibs just didn#146;t put me out there,#148; Rose said Monday. #147;I think he was just worried about my back, but I really don#146;t know and I didn#146;t ask.#148;When Thibodeau was asked about it, he said the decision was made well before the fourth quarter.#147;That was predetermined,#148; he said. #147;We knew we were going to do that before it even started.#148;That came as news to Rose, but he wasn#146;t going to make an issue of it.#147;I know nothing about it,#148; he said of the predetermined bench time.Deng logged 5:50 of playing time, all in the first half. The only two all-stars who played less were Bynum and veteran guard Steve Nash.All-star thoughts:Derrick Rose on the second half of the season: #147;We#146;re not satisfied. We#146;re staying hungry. We still didn#146;t do anything yet. We#146;ve still got to have that underdog mentality where we#146;ve got to go out there and play hard like no one knows us and just play together.#148;Tom Thibodeau on coaching rivals such as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade: #147;It was a lot of fun with the whole team. You get to see them in a different light. You don#146;t see them the same way when you#146;re competing against them.#147;It was a good weekend, but now we#146;re back to what we need to be back to.#148;Roster update:Guard Mike James#146; 10-day contract expired last week, and he has not been re-signed. So the Bulls#146; roster stands at 13 players.