NBA Playoffs 2012: Bulls Must Rest Derrick Rose with No. 1 Seed Secured

The Chicago Bulls came through on the big stage Thursday night with a 96-86 overtime victory over the Miami Heat, all but wrapping up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in the process.

Now that’s out of the way, it’s time for Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau to do the smart thing, and that’s rest point guard Derrick Rose down the stretch.

Of course, you're thinking that Rose is plenty rested, sitting out 13 of the past 15 games. But with seven games left in the regular season, it’s vital that Thibodeau plays this smart and has his point guard at nothing less than 100 percent heading into the postseason.

Resting Rose doesn’t mean shutting him down completely. He needs to play some to knock off some the rust we saw Thursday night against Miami as an effort such as his 1-for-13 performance from the floor won’t cut it come playoff time.

Thibodeau should find a happy medium of keeping Rose active, but keeping him rested as well.

It would be fine for Rose to suit up, but not play major minutes every night as the Bulls still have three sets of back-to-back games the rest of the season.

Sitting Rose for the second game of those back-to-backs makes sense. You don’t want to take any possible risk that any part of his body breaks down the remainder of the regular season.

The other four games, Thibodeau needs to keep Rose fresh, but he shouldn’t be playing the 35.4 minutes he’s averaged this season. Sure, the Bulls have managed to go 16-7 without the services of the reigning league MVP, but you don’t want to head into a potential tough first-round series with Rose in street clothes.

Instead, the smart thing is to play it safely with Rose down the stretch. There’s not much left to play for, so all plans should be made with eyes on the postseason.

For the Bulls to make a run at a championship, they must have a healthy Rose.

If that means shutting him down for a few games the rest of the season, then so be it.