Derrick Rose has single handedly rejuvenated basketball in the Windy City. After years of being spoiled by Michael Jordan and his illustrious teams, Bulls fans felt the impact of a huge drop off after the Jordan era. The Bulls went from contender to pretender instantly and there was an unimaginable void to fill. A city that once lived and died by its basketball now longed for another messiah to lead them to the basketball promised land. By some divine intervention, the Bulls were able to win the 2008 draft lottery despite their 1.7% chance of it. In fact, the team who was supposed to get the number 1 pick was the Miami Heat. Imagine how drastically different the basketball landscape would be today if the ping pong balls dropped just a bit differently. However, the Bulls won and as a result were able to draft the best player in the country, Derrick Rose. Derrick Rose was the superstar player that Bulls fans had been waiting for since MJ.
Fortuitously, Derrick Rose is a Chicago boy and a product of the storied Simeon high school. After one year at Memphis under John Calipari, Rose declared for the NBA draft and was the consensus number one pick. The last time a home town player was drafted by their city was 2003, and the player was LeBron James. However, unlike LeBron, Rose stayed true to his Chicago roots and signed a monster extension with the Bulls. After a couple of playoff seasons, the Bulls made a splash and signed Tom Thibadeau to be their next head coach and instantly saw themselves become the top team in the East. Then in this past years playoffs, on the heels of another finish as the top seed in the East, Derrick Rose tore his ACL. A catastrophic and demoralizing blow to not only the Bulls but to the reigning league MVP. Up til that point Rose's season had been plagued by injuries but he was slowly regaining his form and starting to look like the player he usually is. The Bulls were poised to make a deep run in the playoffs and instead lost to the 8th seeded 76ers. In a season shortened by the lockout and in a season in which Rose was severely limited, the Bulls found a way to win on a nightly basis, and the sky was their limit--as cliche as that is.
Now it's 2012 and a new year, Rose is likely out until the playoffs and the Bulls made a series of poor decisions in the offseason, crippling their already slim chances at another finish as the top seed (especially with the emergence of the Knicks and Nets as contenders). They let C.J. Watson go along with Kyle Korver and their biggest signing was Kirk Hinrich. The wildly over paid Carlos Boozer continues to show how much of a mistake he was and the only real bright spot for this team right now is Joakim Noah. Derrick Rose may not score 30 ppg and get 10 rebounds but there is surely no player more valuable to their team then him. Just as the Cavaliers fell to pieces when LeBron left, the Bulls likely will as well, just to a lesser extent. That is, they will feel the loss greatly and it'll reflect in their record.
Now it's 2012 and a new year, Rose is likely out until the playoffs and the Bulls made a series of poor decisions in the offseason, crippling their already slim chances at another finish as the top seed (especially with the emergence of the Knicks and Nets as contenders). They let C.J. Watson go along with Kyle Korver and their biggest signing was Kirk Hinrich. The wildly over paid Carlos Boozer continues to show how much of a mistake he was and the only real bright spot for this team right now is Joakim Noah. Derrick Rose may not score 30 ppg and get 10 rebounds but there is surely no player more valuable to their team then him. Just as the Cavaliers fell to pieces when LeBron left, the Bulls likely will as well, just to a lesser extent. That is, they will feel the loss greatly and it'll reflect in their record.
When he does return he will be his usual self but the season will not be salvaged. This season is a lost one for a Bulls team that quite frankly should be thought of with a championship or bust mentality.
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