Derrick Rose may sit out with neck stiffness
The Chicago Bulls, who already knew that second-year forward Taj Gibson was no guarantee with a right ankle injury, got some more bad news on Friday 26 November.
According to a recent report released by ESPNChicago.com, the team discovered that it may be without their best player when they take on the Denver Nuggets on Friday night, as guard Derrick Rose continues to be hampered by a stiff neck.
Both Gibson and Rose remain game-time decisions for the 8-5 squad heading into the match-up. According to the report, Rose, playing in his third season out of the University of Memphis, began feeling the discomfort in his neck following the Bulls’ most recent
contest, a 123-115 double-overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns.
“You know when you get a neck cramp, or you’re about to get a neck cramp, and you can feel a little bit?” Rose said. “After the game [against the Suns] it just tightened up and ever since then it’s been tight.”
Rose’s neck was apparently bothering him so much that he was reportedly forced to leave the team’s Thanksgiving dinner a little prematurely on Thursday evening to seek treatment. At the Bulls’ practice on Friday morning, Rose arrived with a heating pad on the
back of his neck. The injury has apparently been threatening his mobility and quickness, two of the characteristics that make the All-Star point guard one of the most talented threats in the league.
“I can’t look a certain way without turning my whole body,” he said, frustrated. “That’s kind of irritating. This is like my first real neck injury in a long time. I think my last one was in high school.”
Rose is expected to get more treatment prior to Friday’s game and, from there, the coaching staff will determine whether or not he is fit to suit up. If Rose is unable to go, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau has already confirmed that C.J. Watson will start in his
absence.
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