Derrick Rose is the heart and soul of the Chicago Bulls, and although the team defeated the Washington Wizards by a score of 78-64 on Wednesday, they need their star to recover from his toe injury if they want to beat good teams in the NBA. Now it appears the team is hoping Rose can return for Friday's game against the Boston Celtics after receiving treatment on his toe:
"It's a pain tolerance thing. It's a sprain. He's gotten a lot of treatment. He usually responds very well to treatment. It's when the pain subsides when he can play."
Rose missed only his seventh game as a member of the Chicago Bulls when he could not go against the Wizards, and team officials have been adamant in referring to Rose's toe injury as a "sprained toe" and not turf toe. All turf toe injuries are sprains, but not necessarily all sprains are turf toe, and head coach Tom Thibodeau was very specific in announcing the nature of the injury on Wednesday:
"It's a sprain and hopefully he'll be back in a day. It's (different) than a turf toe. It's a sprained toe, a pain tolerance thing. He's gotten a lot of treatment. Usually it responds well to treatment. It's a lot different than what Carlos (Boozer) had (in last season's playoffs)."
With Rose, backup point guard C.J. Watson and Richard Hamilton all missing action, the Bulls signed former NBA point guard Mike James out of the D-League showcase to provide some offense in the meantime. James is 36-years old and spent time playing in China and Turkey before joining the Erie Bayhawks in the NBA Developmental League this year.
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