Derrick Rose has a lingering injury, a statement that’s been true for much of his NBA career but is the worst fear of Cleveland Cavaliers fans hoping the guard had turned the corner on his health woes.
Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters on Friday that Rose will miss weeks, not days, as his ankle injury continues to linger.
Though it was reported that Rose would return on Monday against the New York Knicks, he hasn’t played since November 7 against the Milwaukee Bucks. His availability was updated on a game-by-game basis until Lue updated the media on Friday that he will miss an extended time.
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The “at least” is enough to make any Cavs fan wary, as Rose injuries have a bad habit of turning into long layoffs from the court. And though the negative update on Rose’s health comes when it seems LeBron James has the Cavs on a bit of an upswing, it’s certainly not good news that Rose will be unavailable for the Cavs for at least a fortnight.
Cleveland needs to figure out how to defend and not rely so much on James, and while Rose may not be the answer for the long term: right now it’s clear that Cleveland just needs healthy bodies. It’s clear that Rose won’t be healthy for a while now.
