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Norris Cole describes Derrick Rose as his toughest opponent and claimed players faked injuries to avoid facing him
Former NBA player Norris Cole was an important member of the Miami Heat dynasty that went toe-to-toe against the Chicago Bulls from the previous decade. And as a point guard himself, he knew how big of a problem it was to face a prime Derrick Rose.
During the height of their rivalry in the Eastern Conference, both Miami and Chicago have clashed during the regular season and even met for some postseason series. As such, these gave Norris headaches in fulfilling the bold task of containing the Windy City star.
For Cole, D-Rose is his hardest matchup
Looking back on those moments, Cole believes that Derrick was the hardest matchup he dominated during his six-year run in the league. And for him, today's top league guards wouldn't be able to hold their ground against the might and brilliance of the former Bulls.
“When people ask me who is the hardest guy ever I had to guard, I tell them that D-Rose was the toughest,” he said in a recent appearance on the Tidal League podcast. “Your favorite point guards of this day have no chance against Derrick Rose. No offense, but [Kyrie Irving] and Stephen [Curry] have no chance against that guy.”
Players skip games in fear of facing D-Rose
Derrick was so great and unstoppable that even plenty of players were scared to face him. Cole confessed that some even faked their injuries and inactivity just to evade a potential meeting with Rose.
“People were getting the D-Rose flu. Casuals you know, he will come in town and casuals don't wanna play,” Cole revealed.
“Not me, I'm just saying it but for real, it was the word around the league. Casuals was like, ‘Oh, D-Rose is playing, I'm feeling some tendinitis.’ Like casuals don't wanna see that dude.”
