Derrick Rose downplays Game 1 shoulder injury: 'Nothing lingering'

Chicago Bulls fans would be forgiven for overreacting to every Derrick Rose stumble, limp or grimace. In this case, their worries are unfounded.

Rose appeared to injure his right shoulder at the end of Game 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, holding the arm gingerly and sitting out the final 21 seconds of the game. Calling the injury a "stinger" after the game, Rose again downplayed any concern Wednesday.

"No effects, nothing lingering," Rose said ahead of Game 2. "So that's a good sign."

It will be interesting to see if the Cavaliers come out and try to run Rose through screens to make him uncomfortable. The Bulls could stick Rose on Iman Shumpert to avoid that to a degree, but that would mean tasking Mike Dunleavy with guarding Kyrie Irving or LeBron James, something the team probably wants to avoid.

There's also concern that Rose may not play well given the short turnaround between games. All season and especially in the playoffs, Rose has been far better when his troublesome knees – and ankles, and hamstrings – have had multiple days of rest. 

He scored 25 points with five rebounds and five assists in the series opener but won't get two consecutive days off until after Game 6, should the series require seven games. Adding a shoulder ailment, however minor, could exacerbate the rest issue further.

With a 1-0 series lead, the series heading back to Chicago for Game 3 and Rose saying he's fully healthy, the Bulls should be confident nonetheless.