How Derrick Rose Injury Gives Philadelphia 76ers the Edge in NBA Playoffs 2012

No one ever likes when a player gets hurt.

Especially when he is as good of a guy like Derrick Rose.

Rose is the reigning MVP of the NBA where his 2011 season made him a near unanimous selection. He is loved by his teammates, he is easy to cheer because he always has a good attitude, and this past year he had the most popular jersey. He is quickly becoming one of the faces of the NBA.

However, his coaches made a crucial error when he was left in Game 1 late against the Philadelphia 76ers.

With 1:10 to go and the Bulls up 12, Rose tore his ACL going up for a shot. It didn't look like anyone touched him, just a severe stroke of bad luck for a guy who always seems like he has everything going his way.

The coaches' lack of foresight may cost them dearly as they have to turn to journeyman guard C.J. Watson for the rest of the playoffs. While the Bulls fared well without Rose this season, going 18-9 without him, the playoffs are a different breed and the Bulls have yet to show who they really are without their leader.

The Sixers have played the Bulls well this season as well as last year. They beat the Bulls in Chicago last season with a full lineup and beat them in Philadelphia this year as well. They have competed well in the losses and those games could have went either way.

Without Rose, this is a golden opportunity for the Sixers to take advantage and even up the series tomorrow night in Chicago.

Despite their eighth-seeded ranking, the Sixers started the season 20-9 and very early on were considered to be the best team in the NBA. They were a unit on offense, but it was their stifling defense that won them games.

They were considered a team without a star player because no one guy stood out from the rest. Even though they eventually cooled off, they still managed a winning record (35-31), something they haven't done in more than seven years.

In fact, the Bulls were only 15 wins better than them and the Sixers lost a lot of games they shouldn't have. In reality, they may have only been five to 10 games better than the Sixers. The win-loss record should have very little bearing as to how good the Sixers really are compared to the Bulls.

Without Rose, the Sixers now face a team without their best player and one where they should no problem running all over. They should play like they did in January when they were beating good teams and silencing all the critics who thought they weren't as good as they really were. The Sixers are at full strength and have had multiple days to reset and get re-energized for their game tomorrow.

This little series over in the Eastern Conference just got a bit more interesting.