It would probably take a broken bone for Derrick Rose to miss a playoff game, so consider this good news for the Chicago Bulls: his sprained left ankle is just that — sprained.
Rose plans to suit up for Game 5 on Tuesday when the Bulls try again to close out their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers.
“It’s getting better every day,” Rose said Monday. “I’ve been getting treatment on it the last couple of days, coming in in the morning, coming in at night, getting treatment. Hopefully, it’ll be ready tomorrow. It’s not broken so I’m definitely playing.”
Rose said the swelling had gone down, and although he said he planned to get a painkilling shot before the game, he was in flip-flops one day after wearing a walking boot.
He did sit out Monday’s practice, but the Bulls said a magnetic resonance imaging test confirmed there was no major structural damage.
Rose sprained his ankle driving to the basket late in the first quarter of Game 4 on Saturday and was not his usual dominant self as the Pacers beat Chicago, 89-84, to avoid a sweep. Rose finished with 15 points and 10 assists, but scored only 8 points and shot 3 for 16 after the injury.
“There’s no excuses when you’re still playing,” he said.
Rose said he was “just off.”
As for the ankle? He did not seem too concerned. “This one is minor, where it takes a couple of days and it’s fine,” he said. “If it was broken, I probably would be panicking.” CONTINUE READING...
