Rose Was Benched

Bulls rookie Derrick Rose had what may have been the worst game of his pro career on Sunday, going just one of nine from the field against the Indiana Pacers.  Rose was benched in favor of Kirk Hinrich by head coach Vinny Del Negro in the third quarter due to a poor defensive effort.  “(Rose) is still young and he’s got to learn defensively,” Del Negro was quoted as saying in an article in the Daily Herald.  “When you’ve got Kirk sitting over there as one of your best defenders and a guy’s hurting you, then I’ve got to get Kirk out there and try to control the penetration.  We still weren’t able to control T.J. the way we would like.  He carves people up a lot.”

Though Bulls fans can’t be happy to see the team’s stud rookie benched, the situation did not escalate as it would have with some high profile players.  Rose showed his great character yet again, accepting the decision that his coach made.  “I’ll never be surprised when I come out,” Rose said.  “It’s the coach’s decision and nothing I can do about it.  There are games like that when I’m going to miss shots.”

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