On Tuesday evening, news came out that star point guard Derrick Rose would have surgery on his torn meniscus in his right knee and will likely miss the rest of the season. Fox Sports 1 Anchor Mike Hill couldn’t have put it any better when he tweeted, “Derrick Rose appears to be on his way to being one of the all time great “IF” players…..#Bulls.”
Rose was rookie of the year in the 2008-09 NBA season and won the MVP two seasons later but after his MVP campaign, he has had trouble staying on the court.
This is the third time that Rose has ended his season early with an injury. In 2012, he got injured when the Bulls played the Philadelphia 76ers in the first game of the first game when the Bulls were ahead by 12 with just over a minute left in the game. As a result, he missed the following season. Then in November 2013, when the Bulls were in Portland, he hurt his right knee and missed the rest of that season.
ESPN Stats and Info says that including the 2011-12 season, the one he got injured vs. Philadelphia in the playoffs, he has missed 192 games and that number will go over 200.
There are not many more players with the talent that he has and the Bulls were confident his presence would lead the team to win an NBA title or two. Bulls fans will remember in his rookie season, the Bulls were in Philadelphia and he pulled off a nasty crossover against Andre Miller and Miller slipped to the ground after that move. Now all the team can wonder whether he can play for them or for anyone again.
In 46 games this season he has averaged almost 18.5 points per game and 5 assists per game. Next season, he is expected to make $20 million and in the 2016-17 season, he is to make $21.3 million but his career will be defined by the injuries that he sustained, not his performance on the court.
If you are a Chicago Cubs fan, you’ll remember a pitcher by the name of Mark Prior who came up to the big leagues in the 2002 season with an incredible amount of potential only less than five years later to make his last MLB appearance. Chicago sports fans have seen a number of athletes like Prior and Rose who brought incredible potential only to be wasted in a short amount of time.
People have been discussing whether Rose is still an MVP caliber candidate after these setbacks. While he is only 26, injuries like these tend to take a toll on a player’s health when or if one comes back to play once they reach their 30s.
I was willing to give Rose a chance to make amends after he got injured twice but the third time, I think its safe to say that if the Bulls are going to win an NBA championship, it will likely not be with the player that wears jersey number one. We all know he is a fighter and he will do everything in his power to come back but if he does return to game action, the talk of winning an MVP will become almost impossible to be true.
In previous years, the Bulls could not win many games without Rose scoring 25 or more points but the Bulls have done better in games in which Rose is not 100 percent or even 90 percent. Looking to the postseason, assuming the Bulls make it, I think it will be extremely difficult for the Bulls to go deep without Rose.
Beyond the Rose injuries, Chicago sports fans have learned one thing: It is not safe to assume that a highly talented athlete will live up to his full potential. Chicago sports fans have seen this movie before and regardless of how talented one is, nothing is guaranteed and potential doesn’t necessarily equate to what “could be.”
ryanhackman1026 