The Chicago Bulls are notoriously a grinding team. Got an injury? Play it out. And it’s not Tom Thibodeau being a dictator. The players voluntarily play through injury.
In the years when Derrick Rose was hurting. Those Chicago teams were battered and bruised. Yet they gave the Miami Heat a run for their money. So when I hear K.C Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reporting that Taj Gibson has been playing with a grade 2 ligament tear in his hand. Frankly I’m not surprised.
Gibson said he suffered the hand injury during the Jan. 19 loss at Cleveland. He didn’t say anything publicly until Saturday so he wouldn’t tip off teams to whack him in the post, which they did anyway.
“It was severe,” Gibson said. “Doctors didn’t know what we could do. They put a big cast on my hand. Oh man, I don’t wish that on anybody. But it’s kind of almost healed up now. (Thibs) said, ‘Never give a team any kind of uphill trigger point on you to try to slow your game down.’ That’s why I always remained quiet and whatever happens, whatever criticism I take, that’s what I’m going to take.”
As for the gimpy ankles that Gibson has sprained repeatedly, costing him eight games already this season?
“That’s never going to go away,” Gibson said. “The doctors told me that’s basically going to go away probably after the season is done. I said, ‘Doc, whatever it takes. Just bandage me up. I’m going to get my treatment and do what I can on the court.’ No excuses. Try to help my team any way I can.”
No wonder Thibodeau said this: “Everyone talks about having a warrior mentality. Well Taj does. He has a lot of toughness.”
Now look at those set of quotes and don’t tell me that they don’t deserve a Finals appearance. You only play through a grade 2 ligament tear if you know that your team is pushing for a championship.
Love it. I mean, his hand probably hurts like hell. But I love it.
