Add NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley to the growing list of those expressing the opinion Derrick Rose should now be back in action for the Bulls.
“Derrick Rose has practiced for the last two months, if there was something wrong with him in practice, I think the Bulls would have to come out at some point and said, “Hey, he doesn’t look good in practice,” Barkley said on “The Waddle & Silvy Show.” “So, I’m just very surprised he hasn’t come back.”
Rose has been out since undergoing ACL surgery on May 12, 2012, but began scrimmaging 5-on-5 in mid-February after being medically cleared to play. He still hasn’t ruled out coming this postseason, but Barkley says the time is now.
"My biggest problem with the whole thing is he's been practicing full speed for two months,” he said. ”If he has not been healthy and not been practicing, it would be a totally different scenario to me. But if he's able to practice full speed for two months -- not one week, not five days -- I think he should have played by now."
Boisterous as he might be, Barkley has little effect in changing the minds of those closest to the former league MVP. “If you tore your ACL and you have to be the starting point guard and have the expectations that Derrick has, then maybe you can judge, but everybody who hasn't been in that situation before should really shut up,” teammate Joakim Noah told ESPN.
“I feel like it's just so unfair to him and to this team," Noah added. "We're fighting, and everybody's going to just s--- on somebody who's been giving so much to this organization. It's crazy to me."
Again, Barkley had a retort. "You can't go by what his teammates say," he said. "Your teammates always have to defend you. Your teammates can't question you publicly. But as fans and media people, we have the right to ask legitimate questions. And these aren't criticisms, these are fair questions. My personal opinion is if he's good enough to practice full speed with no limitations, I think he should have played."
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