NBA Playoff Bracket 2012: How Derrick Rose's Injury Affects Eastern Conference
Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose tore the ACL in his left knee on Saturday, and it's an injury that will have a huge effect on the outcome of the Eastern Conference playoffs, since the Bulls are much less dangerous without their star point guard.
While Rose's injury likely won't prevent the Bulls from defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, their chances of beating the Boston Celtics in the second round and the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals will not be good.
Let's look at how the Rose injury affects the Bulls' playoff hopes.
Boston Celtics
If Boston defeats the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, which is very likely to happen, they would meet the Bulls in the East Semifinals.
Even though the Bulls were 3-1 against the Celtics this season (2-1 without Rose), the playoffs are a different animal.
The Celtics are a determined group making what is probably their final run toward an NBA championship together.
Star point guard Rajon Rondo averaged 18.3 points and 11.5 assists against the Bulls and will dominate Chicago since Rose can't play.
When Rondo is able to be creative and dictate the pace of play, the Celtics are extremely tough to beat. Since he doesn't have to guard Rose, Rondo won't have to work as hard defensively and will be able to run the transition game for Boston without tiring.
The Celtics would beat the Bulls in a seven-game series now that Rose is out for the playoffs.
Miami Heat
The Heat are too good for the New York Knicks in Round 1, and a possible matchup with Indiana Pacers or the Orlando Magic without star center Dwight Howard would not be a difficult series either.
If the Bulls were able to advance past the Hawks or Celtics in the second round and meet the Heat in the conference finals, Miami would win the series in a sweep or in five games.
Without Rose, the Bulls don't have enough scoring to defeat the Heat over the course of seven games. Even when Rose was healthy last season against Miami in the East Finals, the Bulls didn't have enough scoring.
You cannot expect Rip Hamilton to average 20 or more points per game against top competition in the playoffs at his age.
Miami would sweep the Bulls or beat them in five games without Rose.
Rest of the East
The Pacers are young and athletic team who would have a chance to eliminate the Bulls without Rose. However, the Bulls have a strong advantage in the paint against the Pacers. Chicago was the No. 1 rebounding team in basketball this season, and ranked first in points allowed.
Other than the Heat, Celtics and Pacers, no one else in the East would be able to defeat the Bulls in a seven-game series, even though Rose is done for the year.
