Chicago Bulls players came to the defense of their head coach Saturday when asked if Tom Thibodeau should have had Derrick Rose on the court at the time he tore his left ACL late in their playoff-opening 103-91 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

“Philly was making a run, and in playoff basketball, you never want to give a team confidence,” Bulls guard Rip Hamilton said. “So if it’s having your starters in when you’ve got a team down, you’ve got to try to keep them down. You can’t let them back in the game or make a little run, so we needed guys out there who could put the ball in the basket.”

Bulls forward Luol Deng, who’s battling a torn wrist tendon that at some point will require surgery, wasn’t sure why the subject surfaced Saturday.

“I don’t know why you would question it,” he said. “It’s a playoff game. You’re trying to play. You’re trying to finish the game. Even though you’re up, you’re going to see them three more times. He’s playing well and we want him to get his rhythm. I don’t know why you’d question that.”

via Roman Modrowski of ESPN Chicago