Bulls Game No. 2: Derrick Rose tweaks ankle in overtime loss

From the shades of the 2012 playoffs, to the knee issue in Portland last year, Chicago Bulls superstar point guard Derrick Rose suffered an injury that left Bulls fans with their hearts in their stomachs and curious about what’s next for 2011 NBA MVP’s future. But, there is room for optimism this time around.

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When Derrick Rose takes a hard fall, or grimaces even just the slightest amount, the entire city of Chicago stops breathing for a second. And for a second on Friday night, the entire United Center went dead silent, along with the other 2.7 million people in Chicago.

Rose landed on Kyrie Irving‘s left foot and tweaked his left ankle with about four minutes left in the first half. After hobbling around for a few seconds, Rose limped to the bench and attempted to walk the injury off.

You could hear a pin drop inside the United Center.

(And personally, my living room was just as quiet.)

What made Rose’s injury feel worse was the fact that he was playing like the old Derrick Rose. Slashing, attacking and playing with the fire that made him the league’s youngest MVP winner three seasons ago.

Rose would stay in the game and would play another 13 minutes, but it was extremely clear that Rose wasn’t the same. In 25 minutes of action, Rose scored 20 points on 8-for-16 shooting, grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists before departing from the Bulls bench in the fourth quarter for further examination.

"“It’s basketball,” Rose said. “It ain’t like I tore something, or tore a ligament or something. It’s just that I sprained my ankle and I had to sit out. It’s minor, and I’ll try to give it a go [Saturday].”-Derrick Rose on his left ankle, ESPNChicago.com"

Sure, it’s just an ankle sprain, so it’s not season-threatening obviously. But, the story behind Rose’s post-game comments is the confidence Rose appeared to be speaking with in his interviews.

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And, the fact that Rose wants to try and play Saturday helps show that the injury isn’t too severe and some treatment could have him in uniform on Saturday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Outside of Rose’s injury, the game definitely lived up to the hype. LeBron James took the game over for the Cavaliers down the stretch, scoring a game-high 36 points. The game’s best player scored eight of Cleveland’s 16 overtime points after Cleveland came back from a five-point deficit in the game’s final 47 seconds.

The other two of the “Big Three”, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, scored 39 points combined and made some big plays down the stretch for Cleveland, along with an astonishing performance on the boards by Tristan Thompson, who pulled down 12 offensive rebounds.

With Rose out and Jimmy Butler injured (more on him later), Kirk Hinrich filled the two-guard’s slot quite nicely with a 20-point performance, including two humongous three-pointers late in the fourth quarter to give Chicago a 96-91 lead.

Thoughts + what’s next for the Bulls

The Bulls (1-1) move on to a trip to Minneapolis on Saturday night against the Timberwolves. Although nothing’s been confirmed, it’s expected that Jimmy Butler (sprained thumb) and Derrick Rose (left ankle sprain) will go through pregame workouts before Saturday’s game.

Personally, I would sit them both. After Saturday’s game, the Bulls don’t play again until Tuesday, which gives them both extended time to heal up and get back to playing.

As for Friday’s game, the Bulls looked really sharp early on. As good as Rose was early, the game wasn’t a one-man show. Mike Dunleavy was 4-for-7 from long range, Joakim Noah pulled down 13 rebounds and Pau Gasol (who struggled offensively) blocked six shots. The six blocks were the most Gasol had in a game since 2009.

Tip-off between the Bulls and Wolves on Saturday is scheduled for 7:00 PM CT.

Next: Bulls Game No. 1: Pau Gasol's double-double leads Bulls to win at MSG