by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
Judging from Derrick Rose’s tone last night, you’d have thought that the Chicago Bulls took an L against the bumbling New York Knicks. That wasn’t the case, of course, but the reigning MVP was fuming regardless.
DRose complained to the media about a perceived lack of whistles from the refs when he takes it hard to the cup, and defiantly said he didn’t mind getting hit with a fine by the NBA for voicing his frustrations.
From CSN Chicago‘s (and SLAM contributor) Aggrey Sam:
Rose, utilizing his typical attacking style of play, drove to the basket time and again against New York’s defense and while he went to the charity stripe nine times, he expressed his displeasure with the officiating afterwards. “I’ve got to be the only superstar in the league that’s going through what I’m going through right now,” he said, referring to his lack of free-throw attempts. “But I can’t say too much about it.”
“How many times did I shoot today? And I’m the point guard,” he said, before discussing his strategy to combat the problem. “Keep going hard and make them call it. Keep driving. Just try to put pressure on them. If anything, I was worried about my turnovers. […] “I could care less right now [about being fined by the NBA for his comments],” the Englewood native continued. “I want to continue to play the way I know how to play. I came in this league a driver. Nothing has changed. I’ll continue to play hard and try to win.”
Derrick Rose said his monster dunk midway through the fourth quarter — the game’s signature moment — was a result of pent up frustration with the referees: “I was just mad I guess. I don’t usually dunk it. It takes me a lot to dunk. After that, I don’t know what was going on. I probably blacked out a bit. I was just mad I wasn’t getting any calls.”
With the Bulls sitting comfortably atop the Eastern Conference standings, this could be a case of Rose planting some psychological seeds in the officials’ minds so that he gets a few more calls when the Playoffs roll around, something that would make the fine that’s likely coming his way more than worth it.
