Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls: 5 Reasons the Bulls Won't Make the Finals

As a Chicago native and Bulls fan, I have been patiently waiting for the day when the Bulls would hoist the NBA Finals Trophy and signal a return to the glory days of the Jordan led dynasties.

Then one glorious day in 2008 the basketball gods smiled upon Chicago.

With a 1.7% chance of getting the first pick in the Draft Lottery the ping-pong balls bounced the Bulls way, and they selected Derrick Rose with the first pick.

With a Rookie of the Year award, an NBA MVP award under his belt and a trip to the Conference Finals on his resume, Rose and the Bulls looked forward to taking the next step in the progression—to not only reach, but win the NBA Finals.

Not gonna happen.

While fans have been told the Bulls are deeper and better suited for a long playoff run this season, looks can be deceiving and organizations can sometimes mislead their fans.

Take a deeper look at the roster and tell me where exactly the Bulls got substantially better.

According to BasketballReference.com, Chicago is scoring a full point less than they did during the 2010-11 season. Each returning starter is scoring less than they did last year, and rebounding is also down.

If that isn't bad enough, head coach Tom Thibodeau is still running his starters far too long in blowout victories. Bulls fans saw what happened last year towards the end of the playoffs—the Bulls ran out of gas.

Stop obsessing over a set rotation Tom!

I digress.

Here are the top five reasons the Chicago Bulls will not make the 2012 NBA Finals.

Derrick Rose Is Fragile

This has become a point of contention for many of my work colleagues and for the majority of Bulls fans I speak to.

They call me crazy and tell me to look at how Derrick battles through pain and won't complain. They tell me that all the guy wants to do is win and therefore he is a winner.

They're right and here's the thing...Derrick is fragile, not soft.

The kid is a warrior, but he breaks down easily. This was before leaving the game against the New Jersey Nets last night with lower back spasms.

The man cannot do it alone. His body is not meant to take the abuse of carrying a team with drives into no-mans land where 7 footers like Dwight Howard send him crashing to the floor.

This year alone Rose has dealt with injuries to his elbow, toe and now his back. Toe and back injuries need rest to heal. There is no time for that in a compacted NBA season, so Derrick must play through the pain and when your best player is not 100%, getting to the promised land is hard enough. Throw in the lack of a dynamic supporting cast and it is impossible.

Noah's Got No O

Someone asked me the other day why I thought the Bulls lost to the Miami Heat last year in the Conference Finals and I responded "Joakim Noah of course!"

Noah has no offense and that sunk the Bulls. In the waning moments of games 4 and 5 Derrick Rose faced double and triple teams because Miami knew the Bulls had no other options. While Derrick was fighting for a shot who was all alone at the free throw line? Noah.

Sure, Joakim can pass and has boundless energy, but when the Bulls need an inside outlet they have no one to go to.

The numbers don't lie. This year, he's scoring over three fewer points per game, and pulling down one fewer rebound. May not sound like a lot, but the decline is monumental for a team that absolutely needs as much pressure taken off it's star point guard as possible.

During a pre-game interview recently Noah admitted that he put too much pressure on himself after signing the big money contract the Bulls gave him. Noah is challenged enough on the offensive end and the last thing he needs is to start thinking. Just play!

Boozer's Got No D

Ole!

How many times?

Carlos Boozer could play left tackle for the Bears. Seriously, he and J. Marcus Webb have a lot in common. Both are the largest—not tallest, mind you—but the largest players on their team and neither one of them can move their feet. It's like a swinging gate is attached just above his ankles that allows opposing players to waltz into the lane.

And it is not just the fact that his player gets by him, it's how it affects the rest of the defense.

Each time Boozer's man gets past him, another Bull has to step into the lane and take responsibility which in turns leaves their guy uncovered for a quick dish and bucket or a kick-out three.

This was on full display against the Atlanta Hawks in last years semi-final round. Al Horford made Carlos look silly and nearly cost them the series. Let's not forget what Udonis Haslem did to the Bulls last year either.

It's not like he doesn't have the ability either. The size and speed are there, but without a defensive metamorphosis, Carlos does more harm than good.

Who's the Shooting Guard?

When the Bulls parted ways with Keith Bogans and brought in former Piston Rip Hamilton, Bulls fans were told that the missing piece was in place.

Yeah, he's missing—a lot of game time.

This may very well be a strength as the season moves forward, but until Bulls fans see it on a consistent basis no one can say the Bulls are better off now that Bogans is gone.

Sure the Bulls are winning without him and the loss of Luol Deng hurts much more than not having Rip in the lineup, but the Bulls' schedule so far has been pretty favorable schedule and they have not necessarily needed much from the two guard. That will change as the season progresses.

CJ Watson has done quite well this year and is playing inspired basketball, but how much can the Bulls count on CJ come playoff time? Remember, the regular season is not important. This season boils down to the playoffs and right now, the Bulls do not have a Finals caliber shooting guard capable of logging the important minutes.

They Still Have to Play the Miami Heat

Lebron James

Dwyane Wade

Chris Bosh

The Big Three that play for the Miami Heat are still the standard bearers of excellence in the Eastern Conference and the Bulls must get through them on the road to the Finals. Thus far, the Bulls have not proven that they are up to the task.

If those three were not enough of a problem, Miami has other players that make life miserable for the team from the West Side of Chicago.  That is to say the Bulls did not lose to the Heat last year because of the big dogs alone. Monster games from Haslem and Mike Miller doomed the Bulls.

That is where all of the shortcomings the Bulls have as a team come together. They do not stack up against the defending Eastern Conference Champions.

For as deep as the Bulls are, the Heat are deeper. The Bench Mob has no effective answer for the sixth and seventh men off the bench for the Heat.

Sad as it is to say, D-Rose cannot do it alone and because of their deficiencies, the Bulls don't threaten the Heat.