April 28th, 2012.
That was the day the Bulls' postseason chances ended, and when the 2012-13 season was put in question. Derrick Rose, with about 90 seconds left in Game 1 of the first round, got injured driving in the lane and was not able to return for the series. The Bulls would go on to lose to the eighth seeded 76ers in six games and later found out that Rose's injury was to his ACL, forcing him to miss significant time. A few initial reports projected him to return in January of 2013. Obviously, that was not the case as he got cleared to play by doctors just this week, but says he is not personally ready to return yet. I would like to see him return before the playoffs start to shake off any rust he has, but in the end, it's up to him.
The problem I have is with comments his brother and agent, Reggie Rose, made regarding the Bulls team. He suggests that due to the lack of star power and action by the Bulls front office to make trades, that Derrick may be less inclined to join the team. This claim is ridiculous, and I believe that if Rose were to return, the Bulls would be a legitimate threat to come out of the East. One of the more significant problems I have with Reggie's claim is the way that injured players are treated nowadays.
Let 'Em Play
My personal opinion on injuries is to let them play as soon as they're ready. Probably the most notable case in recent memory of trying to regulate an injury was in baseball with Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg was a phenomenal pitcher for the Washington Nationals. Coming off of Tommy John surgery, the Nationals decided to limit the number of innings that he pitched that year, which meant he would miss the postseason. To me, there were so many things wrong with this. First off, I just found it silly he was on an innings limit and not a pitch limit. In baseball, you could throw as few as three pitches an inning, and up to as many as it takes to get three outs. If they were really concerned about the strain on his injury, they should have monitored pitch count rather than innings.
Second, if I'm a Nationals fan, I would have been extremely upset with that organization. The Nationals, perennial cellar dwellers, finally had the makings of a great team in 2012. They finished with the best record in baseball. They had quality pitching (Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman) and the ability to score runs with the likes of Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman, and Adam LaRoche. They had it all and got to face the fifth seeded St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS. While there's no guarantee that they would have beaten the Cards, Giants, or Tigers, having a player like Strasburg would have been key. Maybe the situation would be different for a consistent powerhouse like the Yankees, but this was really the first time the Nationals were relevant and they had a great shot of winning it all. He had been resting towards the end of the season. He seriously couldn't pitch at all in the postseason? C'mon.
Last but not least, no one can predict injuries. Yes, there are things you can do to prevent or avoid them, but Derrick could be walking down the street right now, trip, and sprain his ankle. The best doctor in the world couldn't predict that. It is for this reason that I don't think there is a such thing as rushing back from an injury. If you feel you can play, then by all means, do so. You might get hurt during the game, but you could also get hurt in practice, or in the post game press conference for all we know. As long as you are not a detriment to your team, I believe you should be out there regardless of the type of injury you have. If Phillip Rivers can play an AFC title game with a torn ACL, then Derrick, you can certainly play a playoff series after months of recovery.
The Bulls Aren't Bad
My opinion on this matter would probably be different if the Bulls were in the cellar. If Rose was on the Bobcats, I'd say, "Yea, save him for next year and the long term." But that's not the case. Similar to the Nationals last year, the Bulls have solid pieces in place and will probably make the playoffs. They currently sit fifth with 11 1/2 games separating them from missing the playoffs. They have three capable big men in Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson, and Joakim Noah; they have an All-Star in Luol Deng; and they have great minor players like Jimmy Butler and Kirk Hinrich who live by the philosophy that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Can they beat the Heat without Rose? No, probably not. That's why we need him back!
I do have faith that if he comes back, and is Derrick Rose circa 2011, that the Bulls can come out of the East and beat Miami if it comes to that. They have the big men inside, which is one of the Heat's weaknesses, and Rose certainly has the advantage at the point guard position. If they can develop an emphasis on stopping the fast break (easier said than done) and forcing Miami into a half court game, I believe the Bulls can beat them, or at least stretch it to seven games. As a Bulls fan, I would actually prefer for us to face the Heat sooner rather than later, depending on when Derrick can come back. It is much easier to catch top teams in the first or second round before they get locked in to that killer playoff mentality. If Derrick comes back a couple or a few weeks before the season ends, I would love to face the Heat as an eight seed, first round, and just get it over with. If the Heat go out in the first round, you'd have to give the Bulls a significant chance to go to the finals with Rose.
Who To Trade?
Reggie Rose accuses the Bulls of a lack of action to trade players to make the team better. If that's your claim, then who do you want to trade and how does it make them better? Save for Kyle Korver who is now in Atlanta, this team had great success with players that are on the roster now (Deng, Boozer, Noah, Rose, Gibson). The only one out of those five that would even make sense to trade would be Boozer. Taj and Noah are 27 and 28, respectively, with both signed to contracts through the 2015-16 season. I still don't think we've seen the best from either player yet, especially Taj. Deng, another 27 year old, is a two time All-Star and has spent his entire career with the Bulls, having played with Rose for his entire career as well.
Boozer, meanwhile, is 31 and has not reached an All-Star game since coming to the Windy City. Since the Bulls acquired him, he has not been able to put up the same kind of numbers he did in Utah with Deron Williams. The problem is that other GMs are looking at those same figures and are seeing a decline. The return on Boozer wouldn't be what the Bulls want unless we were to package some players and/or picks with it. As much as I am not a fan of Boozer's play style, he seems to work well with Noah and Rose, and enjoys being in Chicago. As long as the wins keep on coming in, I can't complain.
What Reggie needs to understand is how distorted his demands are. Rose is the man in Chicago. If it was Noah that was injured and Rose was healthy, then it might make sense to trade for a dominant big man if they were outside the playoff hunt. The fact of the matter is that this is a team with no bona fide superstar that is sitting in fifth place in the East. It would be wise to ride out the storm for now, and turn on the gas once Rose is back. He's led the Bulls to the Western Conference Finals before and I have zero doubts he can do it again.
In the end, I think Rose will come back sooner rather than later. Thankfully Reggie said he was speaking for himself and not Derrick, because it seems like Derrick genuinely cares about the integrity of the game and this Bulls organization. Since he is from Chicago, I think he wants nothing more than to win a title with the Bulls than any other team. If they don't face the Heat early, all of Chicago needs to be praying that an upset happens in the first couple rounds. Even though I think the Bulls can beat them, I would prefer to avoid them altogether. If Rose can come back from this injury and lead the Bulls to a deep run and possibly a title, it will be one more building block for his legacy and one step closer to bringing another title back to Chicago.
Matty O
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