Derrick Rose on sore knee: 'It's nothing serious'
Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose says the pain in his left knee does not warrant concern and that he will be ready for the playoffs.
Rose did not play in the second half of Chicago’s regular-season ending 91-85 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday due to soreness in his knee.
Bulls easing Derrick Rose back into the fold ahead of playoff push
Rose scored two points and played 10 minutes against the Hawks in the team's final regular season game.
The Bulls, the third seed in the Eastern Conference, open the playoffs at home against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night. The Bulls beat Milwaukee in three of their four meetings this season.
"I think nobody cares now," Rose said to the Chicago Tribune. "I think it's all about just playing. My whole mindset going into these playoffs are no excuses and get the job done."
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Rose tore the ACL in his left knee in the 2012 playoffs. After missing the following season, Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee early in the 2013-2014 season. He missed 20 games this season because of another injury to his right meniscus that required surgery.
"It's nothing serious at all," Rose said. "I'm just being cautious. I'm used to knee injuries and my knees being sore. It's just that it was the last game and we didn't want it to linger into a couple of more days."
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau also didn’t seem too concerned with the soreness in Rose’s knee.
"He had a little bit of soreness and with guys who are nicked up, we're going to play it safe," he said. "He would have preferred to have played some."
Rose ended up playing in 51 games this season, averaging 17.7 points, 4.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game.
- Scooby Axson