Derrick Rose Injury: Chicago Bulls Star Knocked Out of Playoffs with Torn ACL

The Bulls were dealt a crushing blow on Saturday upon hearing that Derrick Rose would be out for the entire postseason with a torn ACL in his left knee.

Amidst a plethora of false alarms, the Bulls' PR staff set the record straight with a tweet a few hours after the Bulls' 103-91 win: 

"

Rose Injury Update: Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose tore his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and he's out for the remainder of the season.

— Chicago Bulls PR (@ChicagoBulls_PR) April 28, 2012"

The situation is the Bulls' worst nightmare. Rose, who has played in just five games in the last six weeks, seemed to have successfully battled ankle and groin injuries in order to be good to go for the postseason.

He had 23 points, nine assists and nine rebounds and victory seemed to be in firmly in grasp when, with 1:10 left on the clock, Rose appeared to be going up for a jump shot and came down awkwardly on his leg. He fired off a pass to Carlos Boozer before collapsing onto the floor in agony.

And just like that, all of the life went out of the United Center—and, possibly, the Bulls' title dreams.

According to USA Today's Mike Dodd, TNT's Cheryl Miller said that as soon as the reigning MVP went down, the arena fell so silent that it was "eerie."

What It Means

The Bulls are the top seed for the second straight season and looked primed for a deep run, at least before Saturday. Their bench players were stepping up, and Rose, finally back in action after an absence that stretched throughout much of the second half, looked good after a rocky start to Saturday's game.

Now, the Bulls will have to find some way to win without him—not only in this series, but possibly against the Celtics and the Heat.

With or without Rose, the Bulls should be able to win a first-round series against the lowly, eighth-seeded 76ers. But as for their hopes of getting farther than that en route to an NBA title, it doesn't look so good. 

What Comes Next

Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau took some heat immediately after the game for keeping Rose in the game so late, despite the fact that a win seemed inevitable.

At the time, he told Dodd, "Yeah, I don't work backwards like you guys do, the score was going the other way."

But after a season-ending injury for his star and diminished hopes for a title, it's hard to believe there won't be chatter about Thibodeau's job security.