As of this writing Chicago has seen a 17 point halftime lead over Brooklyn cut to 7 points midway thru the 3rd quarter of their Eastern Conference quarterfinals Game 7 at the Barclays Center.  If you’re one of the many observers who’ve seen the Bulls relinquish a 3-1 series lead that thought, “imagine where the Bulls would be if Derrick Rose was on the floor”, rest assured ROSE CANNOT HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS. Nor can he read your tweets, hear your calls to sports radio or read the captions of your Bleacher Report slideshow, “Top Ten Ways To Make Joakim Noah & Nate Robinson Do All The Heavy Lifting”.  Because, as the former MVP tells the Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson, he’s above such drama.

“That’s my first time hearing about it,” Rose said of the certain critical fan contingent. “I barely turn on the TV. I’m with my son all day. So that’s about it.

“I’m feeling about the same, still being patient, still trying to take care of my body and just trying to enjoy this time and cheer on my teammates.”

Rose said there’s no benefit to announcing that he’s out for the season and said watching playoff games in street clothes has been difficult.

“It has been hard,” he said. “But I’m able to get past it, knowing that my teammates are out there playing hard, giving the game everything they got. That’s all I can ask for. Who knows? It’s still in the air where I’m still trying to be positive and still trying to take care of my body.”

Rose said the organization, teammates or coaches haven’t pressured him to play and he is making the decision alone. Asked about the perception that his inner circle of older brother Reggie Rose and agent B.J. Armstrong has influenced his decision, Rose acted incredulously.

“Who said that? If anything, it’s up to me,” Rose said. “My brother and them can’t tell me what to do with my body. They give me control. I’m in control of the whole process. It’s really all on me.”

Asked what the benefit of sitting the entire season is, Rose said: “Being healthy. Health-wise, if I do take the whole year off and don’t play anymore, I know I’m going to come back a better player. I guess my body will be healed more but who knows?”