As an explosive point guard who loves to slash toward the rim, Derrick Rose tends to take quite a beating. Hard fouls against guys like Rose, Rajon Rondo, and Chris Paul are a common occurrence. However, Rose believes there are players in the league who have been playing too rough with him, and after Charlie Villanueva left the bridge of his nose bloody with a flagrant foul on Sunday he was quick to voice his displeasure.
“I was mad,” Rose said after Chicago’s 100-94 win over Detroit according to ESPN.com. “I’m sick and tired of people trying to take cheap shots at me. You got to say something. I’ve gotta be the only superstar in the league that’s going through what I’m going through right now. But I can’t say too much about it.
“(Villanueva) didn’t even aim for the ball. At least go for the ball. I felt like he didn’t and that’s the reason why I got mad a little bit.”
This certainly isn’t the first time Rose has had a problem with hard fouls against him, and it probably won’t be the last. While there is no place in the game for flagrant fouls and dirty plays, this is the exact reaction an opponent is hoping for. The reason players foul him hard is so he’ll think twice before taking it to the hoop. The idea is for him to become “sick and tired” of taking contact. The best thing he could do is pretend it doesn’t bother him and keep playing his game.
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