The love was still there from a United Center crowd that used to chant “MVP … MVP,’’ anytime Rose would touch the ball. That will likely never go away.
But the playing time? That was long gone for the kid from Englewood.
With Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau searching for some sort of spark to a mediocre start, Rose was bumped out of the rotation five games ago, last getting regular minutes in a loss to Dallas on Dec. 3.
Since then it was four DNP [Did Not Play] Coach’s Decision for Rose coming into the game with the Bulls, and four-straight wins for Thibodeau’s Knicks.