Chicago Bulls confident they will survive without Derrick Rose - NBA Update
On Saturday night Chicago Bulls hosted the game against Philadelphia 76ers and handed over a 103-91 defeat. But there was not jubilation in Bulls’ locker room. The reason was the season ending injury of Derrick Rose.
Rose tore his ACL late in the 4th and was helped out of the court by medical personel. Later on it was revealed that the injury will sideline Rose for 6-9 months.
The question that loomed large after this catastrophe, will the Bulls survive in the playoffs contention without their pivotal star. Coach Tom Thibodeau thinks so;
"I think we all feel awful for him," Thibodeau said after Sunday's practice. "Derrick's not only a great player, he's a great teammate, he's a great person, but it's not a death sentence. It's not a death sentence for him, it's
not a death sentence for our team. He's going to come back. He'll come back better than ever. It's just the way it is and we've got to deal with."
The team was completely devastated and it was evident from their body language during the practice as Rose is more than a player and the team considers him as their brother. But they shouldn’t give into the disparity as they do
stand a chance without the reigning MVP.
Bulls had a lot of experience without Rose. They won 50 games, majority of which without Derrick. Rose has been missing more than 24 games due to multiple injuries such as turf toe, back spasm, groin injury, foot injury and now
an ACL tear.
Rose is the centrepiece in Bulls’ equation his 25 or 30 points performance always provided a cushion and the team relies upon him especially for the clutch shooting.
But the situation is not that gloomy. In the regular season Rose less Bulls’ not only survived but secured the number one seed. Players like C.J. Watson and John Lucas III stepped up to assume the role.
Watson substituted Rose in more than 21 games and provided a solid support he also assumed the pick and roll game with Carlos Boozer. As a result the duo proved to be lethal for the adversaries. Boozer also provided the offensive
depth.
Moreover under the aegis of Coach Tom Thibodeau they have established themselves as one the league’s mightiest offensive team. Thibodeau’s most noteworthy contribution is to instil the team’s fist mentality into players.
That was the reason General Manager Gar Forman didn’t lose hope.
"Our bench has been real key and when guys have gone down, other guys have stepped up. We'll continue to move forward."
Rose eminence cannot be negated but if Bulls’ continue to display the same regular season show, chances are that they will make it deep into the playoffs.
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