New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose confirmed Monday that he was sidelined in late February after contracting COVID-19.
“I was away because I actually had it. I felt all the symptoms, sick and everything. But I’m happy to be back and that’s in the past,” Rose said. “It’s real. I know a lot of people overlook it but it’s very serious, it’s real.”
It was real for his entire family. Rose said his immediate family members were also infected during his quarantine. It was unlike any sickness or flu he’s ever had.
“Yeah, it was completely different. They say everybody is different, but with me, I never felt anything like that before. I’ve had the flu, it was nothing like the flu… It was that times ten,” he said.
Rose will do his best to get back on track, but complete recovery from this virus doesn’t necessarily go hand-in-hand with a negative test.
“I’m slowly getting back. I’m progressing everyday. Just trying to get back into the swing of things. There was nothing but love coming from everybody over here,” Rose said.
Road to Recovery
Head coach Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks will remain cautious with the former league-MVP as everyone continues to trek through uncharted waters as a result of the coronavirus.
“We know how serious it is. And we try to take every precaution,” Thibodeau said. “I think it’s impacted everyone. Everyone knows someone whose had it. Your heart goes out to everyone whose had it or whose had a family member whose had it… He has to go through conditioning. Once he’s ready to go, we’ll move forward with it. But he’s been out for a while now. He’s just starting to ramp it up again, we’ll see how it goes,” Thibodeau added.
The effects of this virus can linger. Rose wouldn’t be the first NBA player to require a longer recovery back to full-strength. Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum said earlier this month that he was still getting his wind back after having COVID-19 in January.
“I’m not sure I’m back to normal,” Tatum said on March 5. “I for sure feel better than I did the first game [back] (Jan. 25). It’s a long process… I’ve talked to guys that said it took months for them to kind of catch their breath, and get their wind back. And I think I’m kind of on the same track with that,” Tatum added.
Thibs Snooze, Knicks Lose
Still boiling from the controversial loose-ball foul called against Julius Randle with five seconds left in overtime against the Philadelphia 76ers, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau had zero interest in discussing the play after the game.
“I haven’t watched it yet… All I know is we were getting hit a lot and there wasn’t marginal contact on that,” Thibodeau said Sunday night.
In addition, Thibodeau insists he called for a challenge on the play. He knows arguing it after-the-fact makes no difference in the outcome, though. If anything, he risks receiving a fine from the NBA. It wouldn’t be his first, he was fined $35,000 dollars in 2013 for post-game comments criticizing the officials following Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semi Finals against the Miami Heat.
“They said we didn’t challenge, so. Two officials, tough calls, that’s all I’m gonna say about it. It’s pretty obvious,” Thibodeau said. “I don’t even know what they were saying. I don’t know what they were saying,” he added before walking off.
Crew Chief Confirms Call
Crew chief Courtney Kirkland claims coaches have to call for a challenge ‘during the same interaction’ with the officials, which he says Thibodeau failed to do Sunday night.
“The foul call was a loose ball foul called against Julius Randle. That was the foul call,” Kirkland said per Steven Popper of Newsday. “Coach Thibodeau did not signal for a challenge during the same interaction with the officials. In order to initiate a challenge, the coach must signal for a challenge during the same interaction, and he did not do so,” Kirkland added.
After Monday’s practice, Thibodeau hardly cared to entertain the explanation. It’s fair to wonder what qualifies as ‘an interaction’, because there’s no doubt we’ve seen teams take a moment to watch the replay before challenging a foul call. A strict time limit for plays to be challenged after a foul would make sense. The definition of an ‘interaction’, though? Thibodeau doesn’t have time to speculate.
“I’ll let you guys determine that,” he said in response to Kirkland’s statement.
‘F– king Ridiculous’
Randle was more outspoken in his disdain for the officiating Sunday night. He couldn’t believe the refs took the game into their own hands in the final seconds.
“Blown call be the officials. Not enough contact for them to call the play… for them to call that and decide the game is f— king ridiculous. It’s ridiculous, they’ve got to do a better job. There’s too many games like this,” Randle said.
Randle’s passion is admirable. New York fans will love that, no doubt. But he’ll have to tread lightly with his statements if he wants to avoid a fine from the NBA for criticizing the officials.
There has to be some middle ground there, though, especially if reporters are looking to ask players about controversial plays right after the fact. Emotions are high, and some officiating deserves fair criticism. If Randle doesn’t end up getting fined, then we’ll at least partially know where the line is drawn.
The NBA later responded to the play by confirming that Randle did foul Tobias Harris in the closing moments of the overtime loss.
Knicks’ Eyes on Late May
The NBA playoffs begin on Saturday, May 22. Coach Thibodeau knows the best way to make it to there is by treating each game as a pivotal moment in the season.
They’ve got another chance to prove their resilience over their next two games, and coach Thibs loves these situations. The Knicks play the Wizards in New York today and then again on Thursday. Another opportunity to play the same team twice in a row and prepare for where Thibodeau knows they’ll be in late May.
Stay tuned to knicksfantv.com for the latest Knicks news, rumors and recaps throughout the season and as the trade deadline approaches.
