Feb. 29--Name that speaker.
"Hamstrings are a little different," the mystery man -- well, at least for two more paragraphs -- told reporters. "You can reinjure them pretty easily if you try and play through it. Or as we say now, 'Be tough.' I call that being dumb. I just want to make sure I'm fully healed and feel good about going out there and playing again."
Derrick Rose?
Nope. Kevin Durant, in November.
The parallels between the Bulls' and Thunder's current fortunes exist beyond their former NBA most valuable players giving voice to a conservative approach regarding injuries that many don't want to hear.
Last season, Durant missed 55 games as he underwent three surgeries on his right foot. Russell Westbrook sat 14 times with a broken right hand and once for a facial fracture. And defensive ace Serge Ibaka had his season cut short by right knee surgery.
One season after advancing to the Western Conference finals, the Thunder missed the playoffs with a 45-37 mark.
This season, Westbrook and Ibaka haven't missed a game, Durant has sat just seven times for that hamstring issue and the Thunder are rolling along at 41-18 despite their gut-wrenching overtime loss to the Warriors on Saturday.
There are many issues with the Bulls. But one of their biggest is they've lost all benefit of the doubt because of their wildly inconsistent play earlier this season. Because of that, the fact they have been decimated by injuries is easily overlooked.
You can quadruple that sentiment when it comes to Rose, who did himself no favors when he said his conservative approach about not wanting to play through injuries won't change even come playoff time. Never mind that Rose almost always answers defiantly -- not angrily -- when backed into the proverbial corner by a question.
Despite his words, maybe he will play through soreness come playoff time. But the issue for the Bulls is they just don't know anymore.
It's one thing to take a conservative approach -- to say what Durant said and what Rose has said -- during the regular season, particularly after three knee surgeries. But if the Bulls can't count on Rose to be on the court consistently come playoff time, not to mention play at a high level, the championship window which was already closing, will be slammed shut and the key thrown away.
Rose, Jimmy Butler and Joakim Noah missing as much time as they are this season is similar to what the Thunder experienced last season. The Bulls are on pace for 42 victories. And with 13 of their final 24 games on the road, making the playoffs is very much in jeopardy.
"You can't really dwell on it or be frustrated about it," Pau Gasol said of the injuries. "We wish certain guys would be back and that things were different. But they're not. So you do your best, you play together, play within the game, help each other, play harder than your opponent. That's how you give yourself a chance regardless of the level of talent in this league. And then hopefully, we'll get some guys back, guys that are important to our team and would help us quite a bit."
That has to be the hope.
While Noah is lost for the season after shoulder surgery, Butler, barring a setback, looks to be on track to return from his left knee injury somewhere near the end of the four-week timeline that runs to March 8. Rose is day to day with his right hamstring, which has led to soreness in the same leg that has endured two surgeries to repair torn right meniscus. And Nikola Mirotic remains weeks away from returning after two surgeries for an appendectomy and complications that required a hematoma removal.
Last year, the Bulls went 50-32 despite Rose missing 31 games, Taj Gibson missing 20, Mike Dunleavy 19, Butler 17 and Noah 15. Tom Thibodeau should've drawn more consideration for Coach of the Year for that alone.
Everyone was healthy for the playoffs until Gasol's hamstring injury placed the exclamation point on the second-round collapse to the Cavaliers.
At this point, even a tough second-round exit seems farfetched.
kcjohnson@tribpub.com
