Derrick Rose Beats Haters Blaming Tom Thibodeau For Injuries
On Saturday night, Chicago Bulls immortalized Franchise legend Derrick Rose raising his jersey to the rafters of the United Center. Making it even more special was the fact that the Bulls were able to beat the Boston Celtics in thrilling fashion thanks to a late three by Kevin Huerter in the corner.
At halftime of the game, Rose gave a speech thanking the fan base and reflecting on the special moment, while also making sure to defend his former head coach, Tom Thibodeau, whom some blamed due to frequent injury problems that defined the second half of Rose’s career.
“I know a lot of people don’t like Thibs. Because they look at Thibs and some of the injuries. But I’m here to say screw it,” Rose said, per Oh No He Didn’t on X, formerly Twitter.
During his few coaching breaks, Thibodeau was known for giving his starters significantly more minutes than any other team in the league, which continued until his most recent stint with the New York Knicks, where he also spent time as Rose’s coach.
Meanwhile, Rose tore his ACL during the 2012 playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers and was forced to miss the entire following season, and from there he had several more injury setbacks that ultimately prevented him from reaching the MVP heights he achieved during the 2010-11 season.
It’s impossible to tell how much of that was burnout from Thibodeau’s high usage rate of his stars and how much was just freakish bad luck, but Rose certainly doesn’t seem to mind, and he’s cheering on Chicago’s famously tiny fan base, one that’s the widow of a general manager who died two years ago, not Jerry Krause.
Either way, the Bulls will next take the floor on Monday night at home against the Los Angeles Lakers.
2026-01-25 16:40:00
