The reason, based on the postgame comments, was puzzling.
From Joe Cowley of the Sun-Times:
From Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com:
Thibodeau concurred, insisting the decision to sit Rose was mutual.
Still, the move leads to a series of questions:
Was Thibodeau trying to avoid saying Rose was benched for his play rather than rested?
If not, then is Rose’s hamstring injury worse than is being portrayed?
Again, if the answer is no, then has Rose lost too much explosiveness to be effective? He couldn’t keep up with the up-tempo Nuggets on Tuesday.
More long term, will Rose ever be able to handle an 82-game grind? Tuesday’s game was the second of a back-to-back at altitude (Chicago played in Salt Lake City on Monday), so fatigue likely was a factor. As Friedell and others noted, however, Rose has yet to complete two consecutive games this season.
Rose will have two days off before the Bulls play the Celtics in Boston on Friday. The hope is he’ll be ready to go.
