Derrick Rose Misses Crunch-Time With Hamstring Tweak; Says It’s “Minor”

As the Toronto Raptors staged a last-gasp comeback against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, Derrick Rose was where we’ve seen him far too often over the past three years – on the bench. The former MVP took a spill while driving to the basket with 2:10 remaining in the fourth quarter and sat out the game’s remainder.

No team medical personnel tended to Rose while he was watching from the sidelines, despite replays indicating awkward turns of his balky left ankle and knee. As Chicago hung on for a 100-93 win, the Bulls indicated that he suffered from a hamstring injury:

After the game Rose stressed that the injury is minor at worst. And though Tom Thibodeau said his star will get a MRI tomorrow as a precautionary measure, Rose is optimistic that no further testing will take place:

Don’t freak out, Bulls fans. This could all be forgotten by the time Chicago plays the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

Still, any setback – no matter how inconsequential from a short-term perspective – lends more credence to the growing belief that Rose will never sustain full health for a significant period of time. Might other parts of his body continue failing him despite his tireless work to return from a pair of serious knee injuries?

That possibility reminds of something Denver Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler told us in an exclusive interview with Dime last month. After having successful surgery on his hip in the summer of 2012, Chandler dealt with lingering injuries to his hamstring and groin that kept him from 39 games in 2012-2013 and 20 games last season.

According to Chandler, he only focused on strengthening his hip during rehabilitation even though other parts of his lower body also needed attention due to atrophy. That’s what accounted for pain in his hamstring and groin. But Chandler worked to correct those issues this offseason, and says his health is currently “the best it’s been in years.”

Could Rose have accidentally neglected other effected areas while recovering from his knee injuries? Perhaps, but his dedication to returning to the floor and Chicago’s care with his rehabilitation makes that seem unlikely. The very possibility, though, points to other ancillary factors that could be contributing to his seemingly never-ending string of bad luck. Serious injuries are never a one-off – their influence ripples.

It’s key to remember that reality as Rose goes forward. Until he proves he can play full-tilt for months at a time, the Bulls should remain cautious. The last thing they need is for something like this hamstring strain to turn into anything bigger as a result of pushing Rose too fast. And history, thankfully, shows that both team and player are unwilling to do so.

Again, this could all prove a blip in 48 hours’ time. But for now it’s just further cause for concern about the likelihood of Rose ever regaining and maintaining a completely clean bill of health.

What do you think?

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