Pain in the neck doesn’t get Rose down
The Derrick Rose injury watch returned briefly Thursday.
Rose revealed at the morning shootaround he suffered a neck injury at some point during Tuesday’s loss at Miami. So for a few hours, his participation in the home opener against New York was in question.
“Just neck soreness, almost like a crook in your neck. But I should be fine,” Rose told reporters at the United Center.
“It had to be (caused by something) during the game. But I didn’t feel it until afterwards.”
Rose was in the starting lineup, as expected, for his first regular-season game at the United Center since suffering a torn ACL on April 28, 2012.
He continued to claim his knee feels fine. The neck problem might stem from the long layoff, he suggested.
“My body just has to get used to playing,” Rose said. “My knee is good. It’s just my neck.
“I never play pickup in the off-season. All this my body is just getting used to. For me, all I can do is work my butt off every day and get the most out of every day and just see how far it takes me.”
World Peace moves home:Back when he was a rookie with the Bulls, Ron Artest#146;s first NBA game came against the Knicks on Nov. 3, 1999, at the United Center.Now known as Metta World Peace, he was back in town Thursday as a member of his hometown Knicks. World Peace grew up in Queens. This season, he#146;s living nearby in Long Island City and said he rode the subway to New York#146;s season opener against Milwaukee on Wednesday.#147;Yeah, just like every other hard-working New Yorker, right?#148; World Peace said, according to the New York Daily News. #147;It was a focused ride, I had to get ready for the game. But it was cool. It was a first time for that. It was an experience, something I always thought I would do.#148;World Peace claimed no one recognized him during the ride or asked for a photo.#147;They were focused #151; New Yorkers want to get home,#148; he said. #147;They don#146;t got time to be looking at people on a train. Heads down. Walkmen on. Get outta my way. You know New Yorkers.#148;World Peace had one more interesting revelation. When he was draft by the Bulls (two picks after the Knicks took Frederic Weis), he wore Knicks shorts under his suit.#147;I was going to take off my pants and have Knicks shorts on,#148; he said. #147;(Instead) I went to the Bulls and had Knicks shorts on under my suit.#148;Anyone who got to know Artest/World Peace in Chicago wouldn#146;t doubt a word of that story.Rose doubles down:Derrick Rose talked about the trouble he faced in Miami, getting blitzed often by double teams and finishing the game with 4 assists and 5 turnovers.#147;They didn#146;t even give me a chance to attack the bigs like I wanted to,#148; he said. #147;They were jumping out way before I got to the screens. I#146;m just trying to make the game simple and find Joakim (Noah) or Taj (Gibson) or whoever it is in the middle, then they#146;ve got to make plays from there.#147;We#146;re coming into these games where teams are really shooting for us. We have to be the most aggressive team out there. That#146;s what we didn#146;t do last game.#148;Bull horns:The Bulls were called for three delay-of-game violations, resulting in 2 technical free throws for the Knicks. That#146;s a new emphasis in the NBA this season, not touching the ball after a made basket. ... New York forward Amare Stoudemire made his season debut in this game, but he was limited to 10 minutes because of chronic knee problems.