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The Chicago Bulls defeated the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night.
Before you can get caught up on the injury situation regarding Chicago Bulls star guard Derrick Rose, you need to understand one thing: not all sprains of the toe are necessarily turf toe, but all turf toe injuries are sprains of the toe. Got it? Good. Earlier in the week, head coach Tom Thibodeau insisted that Rose's injury was merely a sprain and not the chronic condition known as turf toe, saying: "it's a sprain and hopefully he'll be back in a day. It's (different) than a turf toe." The reigning MVP missed a game against the Washington Wizards while nursing his injury earlier in the week, but returned to action on Friday night and helped the Bulls knock off the Boston Celtics, 88-79.
After Friday night's win, Rose spoke to Sam Smith of Bulls.com about the severity and nature of his toe injury. He noted that he has been dealing with pain regularly since his sophomore season and that Adidas -- the shoe company that endorses him -- has sent him an insert to prevent him from bending his toe. Here is what Rose specifically added regarding his turf toe injury:
"I'll probably lose a step, but this is just preparing me for when I get old," Rose joked before Friday's game against the Celtics. I've been getting a lot of treatment on it. Hopefully it should be ready. I was very surprised when I woke up the next morning [after the Timberwolves game] and I couldn't walk. That was something that scared me. I went to get X-rays on it. The x-rays were negative."
"I have turf toe. That was a sprain. That's all it is. Turf toe is just a hyperextended toe. Turf toe is nothing but a sprain."
But as we know, turf toe is a bit different than just a sprain. Turf toe is an injury to the soft tissue around the big toe joint that can limit a player's ability to push off, shift weight and absorb force, and it can be chronic if not given the proper time to heal.
Stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the Chicago Bulls be sure to visit Blog a Bull. Raptors information is available at Raptors HQ. Visit SB Nation NBA for more news and notes around the league.
When the Chicago Bulls (11-2) host the Toronto Raptors (4-8) on Saturday night at the United Center, they will be hoping to keep a perfect record at home. Only the Philadelphia 76ers (5-0), Indiana Pacers (4-0), Milwaukee Bucks (4-0) and San Antonio Spurs (8-0) join the Bulls as undefeated at home, and their dominance at the UC has served them well so far this season. The Raptors are not a great team by any means, but like any NBA team they are dangerous enough to put the streak in jeopardy.
The Raptors' two best players are DeMar DeRozan and Andrea Bargnani. DeRozan has struggled shooting the ball so far this season, hitting only 42.2 percent of his field goals, but he attacks the rim well and draws fouls. The former USC Trojan is averaging 14.8 points per game. Meanwhile, former No. 1 overall draft pick Andrea Bargnani may have finally taken the step to raise his level of play on the defensive end. His scoring abilities are unquestioned, and he leads the team with 22.3 points per game, but now he has raised his rebounding average to a mildly respectable 6.5 boards per contest. Unfortunately for the Raptors, their big man is day-to-day with a strained calf and missed the team's loss on Friday night against the Indiana Pacers. Canadian newspaper The National Post aught an extremely entertaining call-and-response between guard Leandro Barbosa and head coach Dwane Casey regarding the severity of the injury, so make your own call on who you believe:
Raptors guard Leandro Barbosa
"His situation right now is very sad, and he's sad about it, that he's not on us for the court for a couple weeks."
Raptors Head Coach Dwane Casey
"I'm glad he's got his medical degree. I'm sure it's from Sao Paolo University. I haven't heard that. It's news to me. Right now [Bargnani] is day-to-day. Doctors haven't had the chance to analyze the MRI yet. He probably won't go [Friday night]. After that he's going to be day-to-day."
As for the Bulls, they got Derrick Rose back on Friday and took the national stage against the Boston Celtics, where some very good things happened. Solid performances from Rose and Luol Deng buoyed the offense in thr 88-79 win, but the struggling Joakim Noah finally put together a strong performance to lead the defensive unit. SB Nation's Bulls blog, Blog a Bull, explains:
Luol Deng (21 points on 8-for-17, 2-for-4 on 3s, 16 rebounds) and Derrick Rose (25 points on 9-for-21, seven assists) lit up the box score, but nothing lit up the eyes like Joakim Noah (ten points, 12 rebounds, four blocks), who played a season-high 38:41 after almost two weeks of inconsistent endgame playing time.
The Bulls held Boston to only 32 points in the paint and 13 FTAs on a night where Noah's feet were active, he attacked loose balls and challenged shots, but remained foul-less and chugging up and down the court. It was a night where he showed early he was someone on whom Tom Thibodeau could depend in the Bulls' ninth game in 13 days, against a regarded powerhouse in the league over the previous three seasons.
Game day/time: Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, 7:00 p.m. CT
Location: United Center, Chicago, IL
TV: WGN
Stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the Chicago Bulls be sure to visit Blog a Bull. Raptors information is available at Raptors HQ. Visit SB Nation NBA for more news and notes around the league.
Bulls Vs. Raptors Recap: Bulls Smother Raptors In 77-64 Victory
Despite the dynamism of reigning MVP Derrick Rose or the consistent efficiency of Luol Deng, the calling card of the Tom Thibodeau era Chicago Bulls (12-2) has always been defense, and it was that defense that carried the Bulls in a 77-64 suffocation of the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night. The Raptors (4-9), who scored 15 points or less in three of four quarters, looked like a team missing their best player, which they were, as Andrea Bargnani sat out the game with a strained left calf.
Rose once again struggled to find his shooting touch, making only seven of 20 shots, but he did dish out 11 assists on the night. The Bulls took advantage of a depleted Toronto frontcourt, with Carlos Boozer putting up 17 points and 13 rebounds and Taj Gibson chipping in 11 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. The Bulls also received another solid night from the magically rejuvenated John Lucas, who finished with 10 points off the bench, including two three pointers.
The Bulls will be off on Sunday as they travel to face the Memphis Grizzlies on the road on Martin Luther King Day.
Stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the Chicago Bulls be sure to visit Blog a Bull. Raptors information is available at Raptors HQ. Visit SB Nation NBA for more news and notes around the league.
Jan 15 11:16a by Jordan Sargent