Following an upset of the heavily favored Miami Heat in Game 1 of his team's second round playoff series, Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah defended his injured teammate Derrick Rose's decision to continue sitting out of action despite being cleared to play. Rose suffered an torn ACL injury during the 2012 NBA playoffs and has remained out of action for over a year, despite participating in practices.
"Derrick's a brother," Noah said. "And to see him go through this is tough, but at the end of the day it's really funny how quick people are to judge. But people don't know what it's like to lead a team, especially after you tore your ACL.
"If you tore your ACL and you have to be the starting point guard and have the expectations that Derrick has, then maybe you can judge, but everybody who hasn't been in that situation before should really shut up because I feel like it's just so unfair to him and to this team. We're fighting, and everybody's going to just s--- on somebody who's been giving so much to this organization. It's crazy to me."
Rose has been the focus of much criticism as the Bulls have continued an impressive run through the postseason, despite numerous other players, including Noah, experiencing injuries. A growing number of fans believe that Rose should be back on the floor as he continues to rehab his ACL surgery.
The point guard told ESPN on Monday that his status is "still up in the air" and could potentially return to action. Noah did not acknowledge whether he has spoken to Rose about the criticism, but was clearly annoyed with it. Rose told ESPN on Saturday that he hasn't paid much attention to the criticism, but Noah and the rest of his teammates have made it a point to stand up for his decision not to play.
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