Derrick Rose OK, but sees eye doctor after elbow hits him in left eye
Derrick Rose of the New York Knicks sits on the bench in the second half against the Golden State Warriors at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, March 5, 2017. Credit: Jim McIsaac
ORLANDO, Fla. — Derrick Rose saw an eye specialist after Sunday’s game after taking an inadvertent elbow in his left eye from Kristaps Porzingis in the first quarter.
It’s the same eye that required surgery to repair a left orbital fracture during training camp in 2015 when Bulls teammate Taj Gibson elbowed him in practice.
Rose said he had trouble seeing during Sunday’s game, but he still was able to score 28 points in the loss to the Warriors. The doctors checked his vision as a precaution and Rose said they told him everything was OK. He said he iced it during the game and throughout the night and Monday to keep the swelling down.
“The noise, the crowd, the lights were getting to me a little bit,” Rose said. “But I got through it. I just wanted to play in that game.”
Rose was asked if he ever considered wearing goggles. He said he doesn’t want to be like Kyle O’Quinn.
“I’m not doing the K.O.,” Rose said. “I can’t do the Kyle. I won’t be able to stop them from talking about me. They did mention it, but it’s no way I’ll be out there with some goggles on.”
Silence golden to Rose
The Knicks had no music, video or in-game entertainment for the entire first half Sunday, and Rose thought the environment was “weird and “bizarre” but also “great.”
He said he heard fans heckling and other things a player usually can’t hear when the organ is playing and there is other noise.
“You get in arguments pretty quick without no music because you hear everything that everyone’s saying,” Rose said. “The crowd can be kind of harsh sometimes.
“It was a great experience for the players, coaches and the fans because it was kind of bizarre just being in a professional setting and not having anything but the game be the only thing you hear. It was great.”
Warriors forward Draymond Green called it “pathetic” and “disrespectful.” Porzingis didn’t like it and said it was “weird.” Carmelo Anthony called it “different” but wouldn’t expand on that.
In Cleveland, LeBron James told reporters that what the Knicks tried was “a pretty cool idea.”
“They said they were doing it just to get the authentication of the game itself,” James said. “I think that’s a pretty cool idea. Did it work? I don’t know. But the Knicks can do whatever they want. They tried something, so I’m not against that.
“You give fans an opportunity just to hear the sneakers, the ball, the shot, the moans and grunts, the players calling out plays and things of that nature. I’m all about authenticity. But also, we know that music is also part of basketball.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
