Tag Archives: derrick rose

Joakim Noah’s Dedication to the Bulls

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By Ellen Chlumecky

March 10, 2015

Chicago sports’ teams seem to have a curse upon them. Whether they can’t catch a break with untalented players, a team that can’t get their acts together, or they’re plagued by injuries. The last time the Chicago Cubs won a World Series was in 1908. The Chicago White Sox haven’t won a World Series in 2005. While the Chicago Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup in 2013, they have the second longest Stanley Cup championship drought which lasted 47 seasons. While the Chicago Bulls had the Michael Jordan era, they are not without their slumps or faults.

The Chicago Bulls are remaining at a stand still. Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson and Pau Gasol are still under medical watch as they try to heal to make sure they’re at 100%. Just when it seemed like events couldn’t get any worse, the thought that Joakim Noah might be leaving soon to go play for France at the European Championship in September.

Thankfully for the Chicago Bulls, they will be able to hang on to Joakim Noah for a little bit longer. The Chicago Bulls center and fill in leader is unlikely to play for France in September for the European Championship. In addition to the teams’ serious of downfalls, Noah is also still recovering after his surgery on his left knee in the off-season. You could say that his season has been a little bit more than rough.

Noah told the L’Equipe newspaper that he was planning on focusing on his NBA career. He has made it clear the Noah’s first priority is building up his career with the Chicago Bulls. While he has stated before, “the French team is a great experience, but it has been my priority.” The France technical director Patrick Beesley also made it clear that if he decides not to play Euro Basket, he would be selected for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics either.

I think it’s quite noble of Noah to skip out on this opportunity to finish out his season with the Chicago Bulls. He clearly wants to show them what he can give and part of what he is clearly indicating that he can give, is his time. Noah is averaging 7.9 points and 10.1 rebounds this season. He comes in every day knowing that his team is down a couple of great players but the glimmer from his eye isn’t gone yet. He has stepped up this season and I look forward to seeing all he’s got to give.

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Another One Bites the Dust in Chicago

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By Ellen Chlumecky

March 3, 2015

Earlier this week, All-Star Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls had meniscectomy to repair a torn medial meniscus in his right knee. On Saturday morning, February 28th, Rose was back at the Chicago Bulls’ training facility beginning his rehab process. However, we all know that once things seem good, they usually take a turn for the worst.  While Derrick Rose is going through rehab, Jimmy Butler is now scheduled to have surgery on his left elbow and Taj Gibson is now wearing a walking boot.

Jimmy Butler left Sunday’s 96-86 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers after hyper extending his left elbow. He left and did not return to the game. He’s now scheduled to have an MRI on Monday, March 2nd. Taj Gibson missed Sunday’s game after spraining his left ankle in Friday night’s win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Gibson is now wearing a walking boot. It’s not unusual because he’s missed a substantial amount of time this season because of the same ankle injury.

In addition to the injuries, Pau Gasol is currently under the weather. While he did play through the illness on Sunday, he’s still not 100%. He was a trooper by playing through an illness otherwise. It just seems as if the Chicago Bulls cannot seem to catch a break this past week. Three injuries and an illness, someone on the Bulls must have ticked off the basketball gods to receive this kind of karma.

Many Bulls fans and basketball fans alike have made their doubt known about Derrick Rose. Many fans are quick to say that the season’s done and Rose should just retire at this point. It doesn’t help that in addition to Rose, some of their best players are out as well. It doesn’t make the future look all that bright for the Bulls. To think they had a great chance with Rose, Butler, Noah, Mirotic, Gasol, and Gibson, now slowly being taken away from them by these injuries.

Joakim Noah seems to remain disheartened but certainly hopeful though. After their loss, he stated, Nobody feels sorry for us, we just go to hope he’s all right and come ready to work.” When your top players are out, I would be equally as discouraged as Noah. The Bulls need to know who their main line of offense is with Gibson and Butler’s uncertainty.

I believe that Joakim Noah needs to assert his leadership even more than before. The other players really look up to him and he has the skills to back it up. He’s there best hope for a true leader right now to lead the team to a successful victory.

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Started from the Bottom Now We’re Here

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By Ellen Chlumecky

On Saturday night, Derrick Rose once again sat out against the Indiana Pacers because he was recovering from a strained left hamstring. Rose and Tom Thibodeau, the Bulls coach, are trying to give the injury time to heal and be patient with his recovery.

The Bulls ended up losing on Saturday to the Indiana Pacers 90 to 99. There was a player on the court that night who showed the United Center that the Bulls have a new star filling in for Rose. While the Bulls looked uninhabited on Saturday, this player gave life to the team. That player’s name is Jimmy Butler. While the team didn’t get the W, Butler scored a career high of 32 points.

This career high may be something new to Butler but the consistency of his point scoring has been unstoppable this season. Butler has shown his team that he can be a force to reckon with not only on defense, but recently on offense as well.

Kicked to the curb at the young age of 13, Butler had very little to look forward to in his life. After he was finally adopted by a kind family, Butler spent time playing for Tyler Junior College trying to get a college scout to notice him. He worked hard on the court and off the court academically and eventually received an offer to go to Marquette. Marquette’s coach, Buzz Williams, pushed him hard and saw the immense potential that Butler had. Working day in and day out at Marquette, Butler became the 30th pick overall by the Chicago Bulls. Now at only 25 years old, Butler is making a splash while star player Rose is out right now.

So working hard is nothing new for Jimmy Butler especially with his rough past. With Derrick Rose out, the entire team needs to step up in terms of point scorers and leadership. However, all the Chicago Tribune can talk about right now is how Derrick Rose is currently out.

I understand that Derrick Rose’s recovery is something that all Bulls’ fans are dying for right now, but when a rookie made a career high of 32 points it is something important to celebrate. I personally believe that Derrick Rose leads the Bulls effectively and efficiently but while he is out, players need to step up. And the fact that Butler is trying to, says a lot about his character as a player.

While NBA.com did not think Butler accomplished enough in the game because they didn’t win, just like Rose, it will not bring Butler down. Butler has overcome adversity in so many different ways. Nothing in his life came easy to him. I’m sure that losing a game to the Pacers doesn’t qualify as the worst thing that’s ever happened to him. Congratulations to Jimmy Butler, I look forward to seeing more from you and I cannot wait to see what you and Rose can do when he’s back.

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Derrick Rose Looking on the Bright Side

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By Ellen Chlumecky

Derrick Rose’s return created a huge excited buzz around Chicago and the NBA in general. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, waiting to see what this phenomenal player was going to bring to the court when he returned. Unfortunately, as soon as he was in, he was back out again.

On Friday, October 31st, the Chicago Bulls played against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The excitement around the game was huge. Everyone wanted to see the big comeback of Rose battling against Lebron James. But luck was not on Rose’s side on Friday. Rose sprained not one, but both of his ankles on Friday’s game. While one of the ankle injuries isn’t labeled as serious, it didn’t seem like an ideal situation. Leaving Bulls’ fans thinking that their beacon of light was once again out.

In true Derrick Rose fashion, when interviewed about the injuries, our fearless leader almost seemed to shrug it off. He stated that he stayed out of the rest of the game because he wanted to stay smart about staying off the ankles as to not cause further problems. Rose made it clear that he was not going to let this stop him but he was not going to run blindly into it and force another serious injury.

While Rose was a scratch on Tuesday for the Magic game, he still remains positive. Coach Tom Thibodeau is also just as confident as Rose that this is just a minor setback. Thibodeau states that coming back from a long injury always takes some time and that’s what Rose needs. The coach wants him to come in every day trying but at the end of the day, it’s about time. NBC Sports even defended Rose’s honor by saying that Rose’s current injury is just a minor fluke and that it’ll just take a little time for him to recover. They stated that this injury could happen to anyone.

While they seem to be confident that Rose will be back in brand spanking new condition, others do not seem to have the same view. After the game, Twitter was blown up about how Rose was made of glass and how he has no hope to return to 100%. Some Bulls fans, some non-believers, think that because of these ankle injuries he will never return to the Derrick Rose he once was. No major news media has stated that Derrick Rose cannot return from this, probably because they don’t want to state anything prematurely.

Non-believers can think what they want, but Derrick Rose is determined as ever to prove himself. I wrote an article about Derrick Rose’s return last week and he ended up with the ankle injury. I hope after writing this one, he doesn’t break an even more important body part. I do not want to be a jinx for my favorite NBA player.

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Derrick Rose: The Comeback Kid?

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By Ellen Chlumecky

On Wednesday, October 29th, Derrick Rose was finally cleared to play again. The long-awaited return of Chicago Bull Derrick Rose to the United Center has finally been answered. However, Derrick Rose’s return to the court so far has not been met with entirely positive opinions. While there will always be haters of Derrick Rose, some media has doubts about whether or not Derrick Rose can make a comeback.

For the most part, Chicago fans are ecstatic to have their prince of basketball return to center stage. While there are some disbelievers, the city of Chicago cannot wait to see Rose prove himself on the court once again. Chicago Bulls fans are a long-suffering community since the Michael Jordan era. Don’t get me wrong, they have had glimmers of hope since their last 1998 Championship but Derrick Rose was truly their new beacon of light and with his teammates Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah, and Taj Gibson, they seemed unstoppable. On April 28, 2012 Derrick Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee and all of Chicago’s glimmer of hope was shut down once again. Now that he has once again returned, Chicago is wary of his return just because of the injury and worried how long the prince’s reign will last this time.

His teammates and coaches have shown nothing but positive praise for Rose as he worked in the past few months during the preseason. He is working tirelessly to perform at his best. Rose wants to play at his best level for his teammates and coaches. His teammates and coaches know that his main priority is always to improve the whole of the team. His teammates comment on how he is a team player and have complete faith that he will be at 100% this season. Very few players lead the team with such passion such as Rose. His teammates look up to him and wish for nothing but a successful return.

However, several different media sources like the New York Times, have some doubt about whether or not Derrick Rose still has what it takes to remain a legacy. While they had some high praise to say about Rose, they still have some doubts about his progress and if he can be the same player that he was before his injury. They have been calling Derrick Rose a question mark, not in his talent, but in his health.

It seems that the people who have the most faith in his ability to come back are competitors. LeBron James has stated several times how he believes the Chicago Bulls have a shot at a playoff run this year. He stated, “The Bulls are a team that’s much better than us right now.” He has stated that with Rose back in top health and the team he has behind, there is no doubt it’ll be a successful season for them. Even Iman Shumpert of the New York Knicks had only positive things to say about Rose. He commented, “He’s a franchise player and the reason he needs more time to recover than me is because his main goal for him when he comes back is to be M.V.P. right away.” Players in the NBA know what he’s capable of and seem to have no doubt in their minds that he’ll be back in action this season.

As a Chicago Bulls and a Derrick Rose fan myself, I am more than excited to see what he has up his sleeve this year. He has worked his tail off during the preseason to be stronger, faster, and a better teammate. I have no doubt in my mind that Rose will make the doubters eat their words this season.

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