'No Excuses': Rose Doesn't Blame Poor Play On Sprained Ankle

By Angie Wiatrowski in News on Apr 24, 2011 7:00PM

"When you twitch your ankle as a guard, the best thing to do is tie up your shoes tight and just keep playing." Spoken like a true All-Star, despite missing a Game 4 sweep of the Indiana Pacers Saturday, Derrick Rose played through a sprained ankle. However, the Bulls point guard doesn't blame the pain for not being his regular self on the court, playing the remainder of the game (after suffering the injury in the first quarter).

"Just missing shots," Rose told the media after being asked what was difficult for him Saturday. "I thought I had pretty good looks, all my shots were short. Next time, just shoot the ball up."

Rose was taken back to the locker room, but he wasn't concerned about the status of his ankle as much as he was about missing minutes. "I just wanted to come back out quick," he said. "That's the biggest thing; I didn't want to sit down. They were trying to sit me down but I was just trying to come back and just keep playing. My thing was just keep moving and hurry up and put me back in the game."

Rose had to be in plenty of pain to even the leave the game. Coach Tom Thibodeau told the media, "Derrick doesn't leave the game unless he's hurt, so for him to leave, I'm sure he tweaked it pretty good."

Rose scored just 15 points in Game 4 and was 1-for-9 from the three-point range, only attempted four free throws and shot 6-for-22. His response? "No excuses. Playoffs. I've sprained my ankle a million times."

Rose is believed to play in Game 5 Tuesday. Thibodeau told the media, "He has done it before. He'll play through it. He said he was fine."