Fired-up Thibs: Rose had a bad game

PORTLAND, Ore. — Normally, Tom Thibodeau is even-keeled and matter-of-fact in his interview sessions, but the Bulls coach was obviously fired up this morning at the suggestion in some media outlets that the Golden State Warriors may have discovered the secret to containing Derrick Rose Saturday night.

Faced with constant trapping in the pick-and-roll with Carlos Boozer, Rose had one of his worst games of the season, finishing with 14 points, 10 rebounds and nine turnovers in the Bulls’ 101-90 loss.

But Thibodeau said the Golden State defense was not the reason for Rose’s struggles.

“When you study what happened, most of his turnovers came in transition and isolation plays,” Thibodeau said. “The double team or the trap, he’s seen that all year. In the third quarter, when we’re up 12, no one’s talking about what are they doing to Derrick. Most of his mishandles were in transition when you study the tape.

“In the fourth quarter, that’s when we struggled. When Derrick went out of the game, we had a hard time and that’s when they got their cushion. And I liked a lot of the shots we got off the pick-and-roll – that’s how we got the 12-point lead in the third quarter, the plays that Derrick and Carlos made in the pick-and-roll.

“Derrick’s not gonna play great in 82 games. That’s the reality of it. He wasn’t at his best, but the guy still scored and he had 10 assists.”

Thibodeau is correct in his assessment. The Warriors didn’t do anything revolutionary in defending the pick-and-roll, but Rose made it sound that way in his post-game interview in trying to find a reason for his poor performance.