Derrick Rose opened up about his gruesome injury and concluded that he won’t play again until he is 110%, from Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today: “I’m not coming back until I’m 110%,” he says. “Who knows when that can be?”… Rose recalls in excruciating detail is the pain after the May 12 surgery: holes drilled in the tibia and femur, replacing the torn ACL with a piece of the patellar tendon. “My health was terrible, where I wasn’t eating,” Rose said. “They put me on medication. And when you’re not eating and taking the kind of medication they gave me, it can mess up your body. It messed me up for like a week where I was throwing up consistently every day. “I couldn’t walk. I was in pain. My hamstrings were on fire. They had to block the nerve in my leg, so when that nerve block wore off, the pain came. It felt like someone was hitting my hamstrings with a sledgehammer.”
- Rose is so certain about wanting to play at 110% that he wouldn’t mind missing the rest of this season if necessary, from Joe Cowley of Sun-Times: “I really don’t know,’’ Rose responded, when asked if he saw a return for the 2013 playoff run. “I’m feeling good, but like I said if it’s where it’s taking me a long time and I’m still not feeling right, I won’t mind missing this year. “I would love to [play], I would love to. That’s why I’m approaching my rehab so hard. I’m trying to get back on the court as quickly as possible, but if I have anything lingering on, it’s no point.’’
Kobe Bryant beamed about his now-great relationship with Shaquille O’Neal, from Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles: “The former Los Angeles Lakers teammates, who infamously feuded during their time together from 1996 to 2004, have buried the hatchet, according to Bryant. “It was good to see him,” Bryant said after O’Neal sat in courtside seats for the Lakers’ 91-85 win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. “I had a chance to kind of catch up with him a little bit after the [Miami] Heat game here at Staples [on Jan. 17], and tonight we got a couple good laughs, a couple good inside jokes.”… “Shaq and I have a really, really good relationship now,” Bryant said of the 15-time All-Star with whom he teamed to capture three straight NBA championships from 2000 to ’02. “It’s good. I think it’s a good lesson for all of us.”
The Cavaliers may be in the lead to sign Greg Oden, from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio: “Both Cleveland and Charlotte are said to be prepared to make Oden an offer following the Feb. 21 trading deadline. Boston also remains interested, although it’s believed Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge won’t get into any sort of bidding war. The Cavaliers, however, are under the cap and can afford to take a low-risk-high-reward chance on a player like Oden. Their proposal reportedly will be for two years (the rest of this season and next), with a team option for a third. No word on what the Bobcats might be thinking.”
Carmelo Anthony isn’t ready to crown LeBron as the MVP just yet, from Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog: “LeBron James may have sewn up the MVP award with his play over the last five games, but Carmelo Anthony isn’t quite ready to concede it just yet. “It’s early,” Anthony said after practice Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden. “It’s All-Star break right now. I mean, he’s definitely playing like a Most Valuable Player so we’ll see what happens when it comes to that.”… “What he’s doing right now is unbelievable. He’s scored 30-something points on 11 shots and 10-for-12 and things like that. I mean, he’s on an incredible run right now. I’ve never nothing like it.”
It was reported that Brandon Jennings has “irreconcilable differences” with the Bucks, by ESPN insider Chad Ford. Jennings, however, refuted the reports, from RealGM: “Brandon Jennings has “irreconcilable differences” with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to one source. Jennings is frustrated that he was unable to come to terms with the Bucks on a long-term extension, according to sources. Jennings is also interested in playing in a bigger market. The Bucks would be able to match any offer sheet Jennings signs this offseason should they not trade him. Jennings recently changed agents and either wants to be traded before the deadline, or to sign an offer sheet with a rival team in the summer that is difficult for the Bucks to match… Jennings refuted the report in comments to ESPN’s Chris Broussard. “That is not true,” said Jennings. “That stuff never came out of my mouth.”
Dwight Howard explained why he’s not the same player he has been in the past, from Eric Pincus of Los Angeles Times: “I’m nowhere near who I was in Orlando,” he said. “In Orlando, I could play 40 minutes and never get tired. Here I give you about 10 minutes.” He certainly doesn’t look like the player who helped carry the Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals. The Lakers need that Howard on the floor. “I had to lie on my back for four or five months and then had four weeks to train before the season started,” he said. “That’s not normal. I’m used to training all summer and coming back in tip-top shape. It didn’t happen this year, so I’m looking forward to having a full summer and training camp.” Wasn’t the summer off limits, him living in the moment and all? “That’s the only part I’m looking forward to, getting my body back,” he said.”
J.R. Smith believes the Clippers will make it to the NBA Finals this season, from Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York: ” Instead, it was the winning formula for the Los Angeles Clippers, the team the Knicks envision facing in June, J.R. Smith told ESPNNewYork.com. “We look at that matchup for us in the East-West,” he said. “As we look forward to the Finals, we feel that’s the team we’re going to see. Our bench has been so similar, our depth and stuff, so that’s the team that we really look out for because they have a sixth man as well with Jamal (Crawford), and they’ve got so many pieces with L.O. (Lamar Odom) and (Eric) Bledsoe coming off the bench. We have to just try to figure out how to play with their energy.”