This past weekend, Chicago Bulls fans and basketball fans alike took a gasp of air and crossed their fingers. On Friday night, in a game against Portland, we saw the former NBA MVP come up limping and grabbing his right knee. Any sports fan that has seen this knows it is a recipe for disaster. No good news has ever come after that scene.
Rose is just a month into his return from a torn ACL in his left knee that he suffered in the 2011 playoffs. He proceeded to miss the entirety of last season rehabbing the injury. Now on Monday morning, the Bulls announced via their Twitter account that Rose once again will miss the remainder of the 2013-14 season after undergoing surgery to repair his torn right meniscus.
This news brings up a lot of different questions in the minds of NBA fans. Is this the last we will see of the ever-explosive Derrick Rose? Will he ever be the same, or just a shell of his former self? What do the Bulls do now with the seemingly legendary 2014 draft class on the horizon?
Let’s first address the future of Derrick Rose. Clearly, knee injuries are as detrimental as any in the fast-paced NBA of today. Through the first month of the season Rose seemed to be working the rust off of his game and was able to show flashes of his amazing first step and high-flying game. I think it is safe to say that given the rest of the season we would have witnessed Rose get back to where he was just 2 years ago, before the first injury. The news that it was a torn meniscus and not the more vital ACL or MCL should be cause for relief for basketball viewers. After all, we have seen two instances in recent memory that we’d be able to compare Rose’s to.
The first happened just last year with Russell Westbrook of the OKC Thunder. As I’m sure most fans will remember, Westbrook tore his meniscus in the 1st round of the playoffs. After undergoing surgery and 6 months of intense rehab, Westbrook is back and seems to not have lost a step in the process. The second instance was a few years back when Chris Paul, then of the New Orleans Hornets, tore his meniscus. Paul had a slightly longer rehab period in his recovery. But as his play since has shown us, he is still an elite player in the league and is currently playing the best basketball of his career.
The great thing about comparing these 3 players is their similarities. Rose, Westbrook and Paul all play point guard in the NBA. Not only that but they play the same style of basketball, that style being fast, explosive moves with the ball. If the past is an indicator of what we can expect from Rose when he returns, I think he will be just fine.
Now let’s look at the future of Bulls without Rose for the season. They can either decide to keep pushing for the best playoff spot possible or they can wave the white flag and start a rebuilding process. The Bulls are in an ideal situation no matter what path they choose. As Chicago showed last year, they can be just fine without their best player in the lineup. Especially in this year’s Eastern Conference I still see the Bulls as a top-5 team easily. However, they must ask themselves, is that the best route for their future? With the likes of Kansas Jayhawk Andrew Wiggins, Kentucky freshman Julius Randle and hometown boy Jabari Parker at Duke likely to emerge in the draft this year, there is a possibility to pair up Rose with another budding superstar.
I could easily see Chicago going down either path with their decision. However, seeing what they did last year without Rose I think it is more likely they stay the course and make a push for the playoffs. Is that the right move for the franchise? Only time will tell.
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