The Knicks and their fans were more than a little surprised on Monday night when Derrick Rose decided not to show up for the team's home game against the Pelicans.
Prior to the game, the organization was given no explanation regarding Rose's whereabouts, and that resulted in the Knicks fining Rose on Tuesday once he reemerged at their practice facility.
Early reports indicated that Rose may have left New York City to fly to his hometown of Chicago to deal with a family issue, and that certainly seems to be the case after hearing Rose speak on Tuesday. Following Tuesday's practice, he explained that he made the decision to go back to Chicago to be with his mother. He didn't elaborate much, but he said him skipping the game had nothing to do with anything related to basketball.
Rose also explained why the Knicks were unable to reach him throughout the course of the night:
Rose will reportedly be in uniform when the Knicks travel to Philadelphia on Wednesday to play the 76ers, and according to coach Jeff Hornacek, he will start as long as he's up for it:
This doesn't clear up all of the questions that everyone asked when Rose disappeared, but it does answer most of them and provide some clarity. Let's hope he's able to deal with whatever issues he's working through with his family.
