The good news: the Bulls indeed got their revenge against the Knicks by beating them at home last night. Rip Hamilton easily had his best game of the season by scoring 20 points.
The bad news: they did it without Derrick Rose, whose comeback lasted all of one game. This time, it's his ankle bothering him.
The worse news: Rose is a game-time decision for tomorrow's game against the Miami Heat. And how many game-time decisions this year have actually resulted in him playing?
It's gotten to a point now where you have to question just how reliable Rose will be health-wise for the rest of the season. The compressed schedule is probably playing a factor here as he's never gone through a season as tumultuous as this one. A lot of what's come into play here is mostly out of his control, so nobody's pointing fingers here.
As the Bulls have proven time and again this year, they can get by without him in the regular season. Heck, they've even beaten Miami with him nursing injuries, so there's not as much concern of his potential absence this time around, especially with the game being played in Chicago.
However, that time is going to come to an end when the playoffs roll around. That's why as we begin to count on our hands the number of games remaining, we have to hope the new father-to-be is going to make a bit more of a push to come back sooner. With Rip Hamilton finally healthy (hopefully for good), that's going to be critical. Those two need to be in sync if the Bulls are to succeed in the conference finals. Of course, it didn't help that Tom Thibodeau didn't play Hamilton down the stretch of Sunday's loss, but that's for another post.
This upcoming contest with the Heat really gets you thinking about chemistry. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have proven they can find each other on the floor (though LeBron's closing skills are still questionable). Rose is the only real superstar the Bulls have and with Hamilton as his fellow starting guard, that's the closest he can get to a star helping him out and no, Luol Deng is not the answer. That's why Hamilton was brought here, but we're still waiting to see the fullness of his game. To be fair, Wade has had his own health problems this year, but at least he's now had a couple of years with James under his belt. Rose and Hamilton have barely had any time together and don't think that's not concerning. They need to gel and the only way that can happen is if Rose plays. If he can't go tomorrow, let him play the final regular-season games after that just to tune up for the postseason.
Yes Derrick, you have a couple of years worth of a window of opportunity, but wouldn't you rather exorcise last season's demons sooner than later? I know you want to play and are aware that you can't risk further injury before the playoffs start. But think of your team and their fans. We need you in game shape because that's the only way a championship will be celebrated in Chicago. Choose everything wisely from here on out if that's what's best for everybody.
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