Derrick Rose Injury: Chicago Bulls PG Is Worth 3 Points in the Betting Odds

The Chicago Bulls took a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference series over the Philadelphia 76ers with a 103-91 home win on Saturday, but have lost their star point guard for the rest of the 2012 NBA playoffs, according to the Chicago Bulls.

Las Vegas oddsmakers have still established the Bulls as 5.5-point home favorites in Tuesday night's Game 2 without the services of Derrick Rose due to a significant knee injury, which is three points less than today's betting odds when the game tipped at 1:05 p.m. ET. 

Chicago has gotten use to playing without the reigning NBA MVP, with guards John Lucas III and C.J. Watson playing significant minutes down the stretch due to Rose dealing with numerous setbacks throughout the 2011-12 campaign.  

The Bulls should also remain confident in advancing to the second round, with NBA teams winning 78 percent of the time (318-105) after winning Game 1 of a best-of-seven series.  The squad also has a great opportunity of simply winning all four games at the United Center, as the franchise is 115-39 all time at home during the postseason.

Rose is certainly going to be missed after scoring a game-high 23 points in the series opener, but it's important to note that the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed captured an 89-80 win over the Philadelphia 76ers as four-point home favorites without him on March 17.

It's also a nice luxury to possess the NBA's best defense when faced with adversity—Windy City fans should definitely remain confident in advancing to the second round.