The injuries continue for Derrick Rose. The Chicago Bulls point guard went down once again in the win over the Indiana Pacers and now the team must hope the issue is not serious. While Rose admitted to dealing with blurry vision following his injury in the preseason, an ankle sprain is certainly not welcomed.
According to Nick Friedell of ESPN.com, Rose went down with an ankle sprain in the fourth quarter against the Pacers and did not return. Rose was in the process of having one of his better games this year with 23 points and six assists in 34 minutes. According to the point guard, this is just a simple ankle injury and he did not expect it to be a lingering issue moving forward.
"All of it's positive," Rose said, via ESPN.com. "For what I went through and all I've been through, just me playing and feeling all right after the game. Of course, my ankle's a little bit sore, but I'm just happy nothing's tore or broken. So I'll be all right."
With Rose hitting his stride, the Bulls cannot afford a setback. They need the point guard healthy as his status for Wednesday's game against Phoenix is up in the air at the moment. The team is starting to get healthy again. Joakim Noah has returned to the lineup after dealing with knee issues once again. He did not earn a starting role once again as Nikola Mirotic appears to be favored with Pau Gasol. Noah told the media he is simply focused on staying healthy and controlling what he can control.
"I just got to stay focused, listen to my body," Noah said, via ESPN.com. "I'm just working hard and just trying to get back to where I need to get to. I'm not surprised about anything. I'm just focused right now on trying to help us win a game."
The Bulls are not building around Noah right now which is not good considering the center is in the final year of his contract. With Gasol and Mirotic excelling together and Taj Gibson coming off the bench, Noah appears to be on the outside looking in for the moment. Staying healthy can change that.
With Rose potentially out, the pressure is on Jimmy Butler's shoulders which he does not mind. Kirk Hinrich replaced Rose in the game against the Pacers and he likely would be inserted as the starter against Phoenix is need be.
