Since my last post, the news has broken that Derrick Rose has been cleared to play by doctors. It was initially reported that he wouldn't return until he could confidently dunk off his left foot. On Sunday, Rose told ESPN's Doris Burke that his hamstrings felt like they were "on fire" after workouts and he won't play until that issue is resolved. I wouldn't be shocked to see yet another "development" over the next 48 hours.
As time passes, the Rose soap opera continues to take many strange and frustrating twists and turns. The Bulls are in a spot where they need all the help they can get right now, but is Rose the answer for this bunch? More importantly, will he play this season? The truth is I can't definitively decide what I think is going to happen. Not anymore. All this talk about what may or may not happen is only adding to the headache the Bulls are suffering. Now that Rose can physically play NBA basketball again, we should have seen all these reports at the end of the tunnel a mile away. Rose isn't at fault much. He's only guilty of dropping occasional quotes to the press which are then blown up. It's just too bad he can't control people's emotions or constant need for information.
Very soon, Rose has to take a good look in the mirror and decide what's best for himself. Michael Jordan's first return to basketball came on March 19, 1995. That date for 2013 is quickly approaching, so the next week is going to be crucial for him. Everybody wants an answer and is sick of the uncertainty that has surrounded the point guard ever since he went down. Does he feel like he has to help the flailing Bulls quickly or would rather wait several more months so he can play at an elite level for the rest of his contract? He'll have to choose quickly and wisely so this circus can close up shop.
Of course, what should be the bigger issue right now is the Bulls' inability to stay healthy, which is leading to losses against competitive teams that could have been wins earlier in the year. But that was when Kirk Hinrich, Rip Hamilton and Taj Gibson were healthy and providing enough offense. Now, in the time of the starting backcourt of Nate Robinson and Marco Belinelli, they're barely squeaking out wins against the Utah Jazz and surviving late runs by the Brooklyn Nets. Neither would have happened at the beginning of the year.
When the best you can against the Pacers in Indiana is stay with them and consider that a moral victory, you're in trouble. It sure seemed like a given that the Bulls could earn at least the fourth seed in the East. That's still possible, but they're suddenly in a dogfight for seeding with the lower playoff teams in the conference. If they want to stand out again, they simply have to get healthier. It's not something that can happen with a simple lecture from Tom Thibodeau however. He's doing all he can to stay in games, but he can't control his players' health, even if he screams himself hoarse.
We'll find out more soon about this team as we head into the final month of the regular season. Will one of the healthy players unexpectedly take up the on-court leadership role the Bulls seem to be lacking right now? Can Luol Deng and Joakim Noah coax those left over into stepping up their game to the point where they'll be as feared as the team benches of the recent past have been? Anything that can stop the bleeding would be appreciated. It just depends on if the Bulls have the manpower and mental ability to make it happen. The NBA is a strange place. Maybe we'll be talking about a hot club a couple of weeks from now.
The strange mid-March trip to the West Coast continues Wednesday when the Bulls take on the Kings in what could be their last visit to Sacramento. Despite their recent struggles, let's hope they can give the people of California's capital a lasting impression before their team possibly becomes the new Seattle SuperSonics. Plus, you just have to win if you're playing the worst team in its conference. That's how it typically works, right?
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