Anterior Cruciate Ligament. Tear it, and you’ll need surgery. If you play sports and you tear it, you’ll need surgery and lots of physical therapy. More often than not athletes need reconstructive surgery, especially if they have a complete tear.
But will someone please tell me what is going on with Derrick Rose?
The Chicago Bulls’ star point guard tore his left ACL in the closing minutes of last season’s first playoff game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Surgery was performed in early May, with the doctors predicting an eight- to 12-month recovery time.
Rose didn’t return for the season opener, and nobody expected him to. As the only player besides LeBron James to have won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award in the past five years, the Bulls understandably wanted to protect their investment.
Basketball fans all said the same thing: Let him recover, let him rest. Rose and Adidas even teamed up for a marketing campaign, a six-part television-commercial-documentary entitled “The Return of D Rose.” Everyone knows how well TV spots and NBA stars go together (see: “The Decision”), so naturally no one batted an eye.
As the months wore on, Rose was assimilated more and more into the Bulls’ everyday routine. In an October 2012 interview with the Chicago Tribune, he admitted that he “[couldn’t] wait to get back on the court.” Every time a new development happened, such as him doing cutting drills or participating in shootarounds, crude videos of the activity would end up online and speculation on his return would run rampant.
In mid-February, Rose participated in a five-on-five scrimmage for the first time since his injury. The fever pitch reached an all-time high. Finally, on March 8, team doctors cleared the Bulls’ superstar to play in an actual professional game. That event was over a month ago.
Derrick Rose has yet to play one minute of action this season.
When pressed, Rose explained that he didn’t feel entirely comfortable dunking off his left foot, and only until then will he be mentally ready to play in a game. Not until he’s 110 percent, he told everyone.
Someone needs to tell Rose there’s a lot more to basketball than dunking, especially for a 6-foot-3-inch point guard.
And that mentions another point, which is that Rose admits he won’t come back until he’s “mentally ready.” It’s a rare breed of a MVP to withhold himself from competition because of a lack of cerebral fortitude. The longer he waits to return to the hardwood, the greater the pressure and expectations will be to do well, and common sense says that will be of no benefit to Rose’s mental toughness. The best way to boost his confidence? Play garbage minutes in a blowout of the Charlotte Bobcats in his home arena. The crowd will go nuts.
The fact remains, however, that Derrick Rose will not play in an NBA game this season. For fans of basketball, it’s a shame that he didn’t feel he was in a position to contribute to his team. The Bulls are slated to be a five-seed and face the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. Without Rose, however, the organization is strongly indicating that it’s given up on a championship this year. Coach Tom Thibodeau, who’s had Rose’s back all year, will give his usual crafted answers about how the team still expects to compete for a title, but we can all read between the lines.
Going forward, consider the case of Kobe Bryant. The once-in-a generation stud recently tore his Achilles’ and will need several months of rehab. Kobe plays banged-up all the time, but at 34, he is 10 years older than Rose. That prompted a reporter to ask him if his career was over, a question Kobe had the perfect answer for: “Are you kidding me?”
