Rose has earned the right to rest
LeBron James took Sunday off for rest and maintenance and his Cleveland Cavaliers lost to Washington 113-99.
San Antonio has long made it a practice to give its older stars some days off during the regular season. This year, Tim Duncan has missed 15 games and Manu Ginóbili 16.
So why should Derrick Rose taking three games off due to right hamstring tendinitis elicit anything more than a shrug? Or even his day off on Feb. 8 in Charlotte due to “general soreness?”
Sure, it would be great if the Bulls were completely healthy these days, while trying to hang onto one of the Eastern Conference playoff slots. But injuries are a big part of the NBA season and there's not much anyone can do about it. There's no reason to act like Rose is letting down the team by deciding he's not healthy enough to play.
Rose has missed 10 games this season, the same as Jimmy Butler. That's not a huge number, especially for someone with Rose's injury history.
All things considered, this season has been a step in the right direction for Rose. Over the past four years, he's gone from zero games played to 10 to 51. Right now, he's at 48 games played, so he should surpass last season's total easily.
He's also played well after a slow start. During February, Rose averaged 21.9 points, 6 assists and 5.7 rebounds. If the Bulls are looking for hope in a disappointing season, the potential of a Rose-Butler backcourt is a decent start.
It is a bit ironic that after former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau was sometimes accused of working players too hard, new coach Fred Hoiberg has presided over an injury-filled season.
There's really not much evidence a high number of minutes played causes injuries in the NBA. Butler still leads the league in minutes per game at 37.9. Go back a decade, though, to the 2005-06 season and Allen Iverson led the league with 43.1 minutes, while nine guys averaged at least 40.
Out of that group, Iverson missed 10 games in ‘05-06, but nobody else in the top group sat out more than four. NBA players haven't gotten more fragile during the last 10 years.
Most injuries are just bad luck. After three knee surgeries and nearly two full seasons on the sideline, Rose is a special case. If he needs a day off, he should take it. After all he's been through, Rose is more qualified than anyone to judge whether or not he should play.
Rose certainly remembers the 2011-12 lockout season when a series of nagging injuries culminated in a torn ACL in his left knee in the first game of the playoffs. If he's running with a limp or feeling pain in a hamstring tendon, sitting out is common sense.
This season hasn't gone well for the Bulls, but if they secure a top-eight finish with a relatively healthy lineup, they'll have a chance to win a playoff series. Rest and maintenance might be a perfect prescription for Rose.
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