None of the Bulls’ beat writers will do the obvious: Why was
Joakim Noah gimping around in the fourth quarter after slicing his ankle in
half?
This isn’t about winning a now meaningless series against
the Philadelphia 76ers, it’s the long-term picture. Joakim Noah is your second
most valuable trade asset and an actual strength on a team of specialists.
I was in the Tom-Thibodeau-isn’t-at-fault-for-Derrick-Rose’s-ACL-tear
camp, but this? How does one begin to explain him being back in the game, when
his replacement is often better than he is on the defensive end of the game?
I’m more offended that the team’s doctors medically cleared
him to go back in the game. If you’re Thibodeau—in the heat of the battle—shouldn’t
be able to count on those around you to make these decisions?
Oh yeah, the Bulls lost Sunday because they didn’t have
Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah in what is now becoming one of the most pitiful
NBA stories I can remember. This isn’t a team melting under pressure, it’s a
team that came apart by, well, bad luck.
Can we put an end to the “I like C.J. Watson” stupidity and
the “the Bulls play better without Derrick
Rose?” Both theories have been
shared gratuitously since Derrick went down with his awful injury and it’s
maddening—if not, fucking infuriating to anyone who has seriously consumed
Bulls basketball since Rose joined the team.
Bad opinions aren’t new, but I sincerely believe people want
to differentiate themselves when these moments of sporting crises occur. I was
at the fore of the Chicago Bears are ruined with Caleb Hanie, and yet, there
was this uncharted uptick in Bears optimism because HE WAS IN THE LINEUP!
“I like this kid, he’s got moxie.”
“I think he’ll give them a push.”
“Did you see him in the NFC Championship game—they nearly
won!”
Never mind he completed like 11 passes, three of them to the
Packers for seven points. I don’t think people want to deal with the hurt and
the disappointment with an injury this severe. All that time—especially in
basketball—we spent watching this silly game is for naught because Johnny Knox
slipped out of his break and Derrick Rose was attacking when shouldn’t have
been.
The comparisons are eerie: Both Cutler and Rose (albeit, a
much more accomplished player) are on teams with very little firepower, asked
to do the impossible on a consistent basis and are under incredible pressure
week-to-week but are better appreciated when they aren’t in the lineup.
I didn’t think I had the nerve to watch the rest of the
games without Rose, but I have and it’s exactly what a team would look like
without one of the best players in the league. There are no surprises here.
Superstars amount to championships. It’s a safe bet.
I know we all like the idea of the little engine that could,
but these are professional sports. There are no charity stories. We don’t need
to fight the obvious: the Chicago Bulls are entirely dependent and designed
around one of the most dynamic point guards I’ve ever seen.
That’s all.
This season has been difficult to enjoy in spite of winning.
We’ve worried that we can’t handle the Heat, but it was really a test of
whether we would be blessed enough to
win the regular season again without expending all of our assets.
When Derrick Rose went down, the season went with it.
At this point, it’s a matter of next season and beyond.
Contact Mike Mitchell
at michaelkennethmitchell@gmail.com.
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