Chicago Bulls: Franchise players in each NBA Team – NBA Feature Part 5
Chicago Bulls – Derrick Rose
When Derrick Rose went down with an ACL injury to his knee during the Game 1 of the first round of playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers, not only the chances of the Chicago Bulls qualifying for the first round faded away, their
chances of having third consecutive incredible regular season also went down the drain.
Rose, over the course of last four years, has emerged as the back bone of the Bulls and has again propelled them into an era of eminence, one which did not seem on the radar ever since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen bid adieu
to the league.
In his first season, the point guard took the Bulls into the playoffs with a 50-50 record, repeated the act in second one, and then had a breakout 2010-11 season in which he carried the Bulls to the best record in the regular season,
and beat LeBron James in the race to the MVP – the youngest ever in the history of the league.
Last regular season was also a good one for the Bulls, but it saw Rose suffer from one injury after another, missing out 27 games in total.
Although the Bulls, based on the performances of Luol Deng, Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer, managed to win 18 of those games, but their struggles once Rose bowed out of the playoffs indicated that the regular season success in his
absence was more of a fluke.
Moreover, as good as Deng, Noah and Boozer may be anybody who thinks that Rose is not the face of the franchise should start following another game.
Rose is a prolific shooter from within and beyond the arc, loves to challenge opposition defense by penetrating into the traffic. Most importantly, he has the pedigree to make big shots, when his team so desperately requires, and
that makes him one of the most feared guards in the league, best according to most.
His impact on the franchise can be gauged from the fact that there ain’t many analysts in the league, who are giving Bulls a chance of even qualifying for the playoffs this season, since Rose is not expected to return before March.
In short, Rose is the identity by which the Bulls are known nowadays. He is to Chicago what LeBron James was to the Cleveland Cavaliers years back and there is no doubt that he hold the key to the future of the Windy City franchise.
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