Andrew Wiggins has been named NBA Rookie of the Year, beating out Nikola Mirotic and Nerlens Noel.
Elfrid Payton finished fourth and received three first place votes.
Marcus Smart, Jusuf Nurkic and Jordan Clarkson also received votes.
Andrew Wiggins has been named NBA Rookie of the Year, beating out Nikola Mirotic and Nerlens Noel.
Elfrid Payton finished fourth and received three first place votes.
Marcus Smart, Jusuf Nurkic and Jordan Clarkson also received votes.
Jimmy Butler said he has been too focused on his offense as the Chicago Bulls fell to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.
"I have," Butler said. "I'll stay on us about it. I'm supposed to be the prime-time defensive guy, and I haven't been guarding a soul. I've been worried about offense too much, and I need to change that quickly or it's going to be my fault."
Butler almost racked up a triple-double in Monday's loss with 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, but he was just 5-for-21 from the field in 46 minutes of play. He is averaging 44.2 minutes per game in the series.
"I think they just played harder than we did," Butler said. "On both ends of the floor. End of story. They played harder than we did."
The front office of the Chicago Bulls have downplayed reports of a strained relationship they have with Tom Thibodeau.
But people close to Thibodeau expect him to be fired this offseason.
Thibodeau's propensity to give what some may believe to be excessive minutes to some of his players has been an issue with the front office.
Thibodeau also was not happy with the firing of Ron Adams, among other issues.
There was a rumor a month ago that Doug McDermott's father, Greg McDermott, called the front office of the Chicago Bulls to complain about his lack of playing time.
“Trust me, I heard it,’’ Doug McDermott said, acknowledging that it was bothersome.
“I actually talked to my dad right after someone brought that to my attention in the locker room,’’ he continued. “I called him up and I was just kind of laughing almost. He was like, ‘What are you laughing about?’ I said, ‘You hear this rumor going out that you called the front office and stuff?’ He started laughing.’’
Greg McDermott is head coach of Creighton.
“My dad would never do that,’’ Doug McDermott said. “He’s a coach, and he has to deal with parents all the time, calling him up all the time. Boosters, parents, calling all the time about playing time, everything. He would never do that. He has too much respect for the coaches here, [general manager] Gar [Forman] and Pax [VP of basketball operations John Paxson], all those guys. He would never do that.’’
McDermott has had a disappointing rookie season dealing with injuries and not featuring in Tom Thibodeau's rotation.
Nikola Mirotic will miss Game 3 against the Milwaukee Bucks due to a quad injury, the Chicago Bulls announced Wednesday.
Mirotic suffered the injury in the Bulls' Game 2 win on Monday.
Nikola Mirotic will be reevaluated on Tuesday after suffering a left quad strain, the Chicago Bulls announced Monday.
Mirotic suffered the injury in the Bulls' win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2.
Derrick Rose had 23 points and seven assists in his first playoff game in almost three years.
"It felt good," Rose said of his playoff return. "It felt normal. I'm grateful to be playing again, playing with my teammates that I have right now. They're allowing me to play the way that I normally play, and it's an honor, man. I'm really fortunate because I think anywhere else it wouldn't be the same, and they're giving me motivation. They're pushing me, and it feels good."
Rose tore his ACL on April 28, 2012.
"I think it was special to all of us," Joakim Noah said. "Derrick played really well, and I could just tell before the game he was just -- it was like more for the love of the game, you know? It was just good to see him out there competing the way he was competing. It felt really good."
The following are the matchups for the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs.
Western Conference
1. Golden State Warriors vs. 8. New Orleans Pelicans
2. Houston Rockets vs. Dallas Mavericks
3. Los Angeles Clippers vs. 6. San Antonio Spurs
4. Portland Trailblazers vs. 5. Memphis Grizzlies
Eastern Conference
1. Atlanta Hawks vs. 8. Brooklyn Nets
2. Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 7. Boston Celtics
3. Chicago Bulls vs. 6. Milwaukee Bucks
4. Toronto Raptors vs. Washington Wizards
Derrick Rose opened up about his most recent rehab getting back to game action.
"Hell," Rose said when asked what the last six weeks were like. "Because you got to do rehab over again. Waking up at 7:30 every day and being there two hours before practice, beating everybody to the training room when you arrive to a city. You have to do two or three workouts every day. So the game, that’s kind of easy. For sure it’s easy."
Rose made several big plays down the stretch of Saturday's victory.
"It just feels good being put in those situations again," he said. "It’s always a blessing when you come back to a team like this and they allow you to play the way that you play. I’m grateful for it. And I’m happy that I’m playing in the fourth quarter now."
Derrick Rose is expected to play in his first game since his Feb. 27 meniscectomy on his right knee on Wednesday against the Orlando Magic.
"It feels the same," Rose said Wednesday of being on the verge of playing again. "I've been putting a lot of work in, busting my ass to get back and I'm just happy that I'm able to come back to a team where I think we're playing all right basketball. I think defensively we're playing good, so offensively I shouldn't have to worry about it, just come back and play the way that I normally play."
Tom Thibodeau said at a shootaround Wednesday that Rose would play about 20 minutes in his first game back.
"Just him being on the floor is a plus for our team," Thibodeau said. "I'm not expecting him to play 35 minutes. I'm not expecting him to score 30 points. Just go out there, run the team, play to your strengths, cover up your weaknesses, make your teammates better. That's all I want him to do."