Boston Celtics: What Derrick Rose's Injury Means for the C's

With just one minute and 10 seconds remaining in the Chicago Bulls' 103-91 Game 1 win over the 76ers, Derrick Rose jumped up to make a pass to Carlos Boozer. As he jumped, his left knee buckled and he tore his ACL. Just like that, the playoffs were over for Derrick Rose.

For Chicago's start point guard and for the Bulls, this injury is devastating. Rose misses out on a legitimate chance to win an NBA championship, and the Bulls, while they still can't be counted out, will have a much harder time contending for an NBA Finals run without the reigning MVP.

Granted, the Bulls have played well without Rose, so they won't be a cake walk for any team. Still, the Bulls will likely be able to beat the 76ers and advance to the 2012 NBA playoffs.

If the Celtics can advance past the Hawks in the first round, and no upsets take place, then they will play the Rose-less Bulls in the Eastern Conference semifinals. For the Celtics, this makes the road to the Eastern Conference finals easier.

In order to be one series away from returning to the NBA Finals, all the Celtics need to do is beat the Al Horford-less Hawks and the Derrick Rose-less Bulls. That road does not seem nearly as daunting as it could be.

Both series will still be hard. The Hawks are a good team, even without Horford, and the Bulls are an even tougher out than Boston's first-round opponents, even without Rose. But the Celtics are a good enough team to beat both and advance to the conference finals, where they would likely meet the Miami Heat, who again will be a very tough opponent. The Celtics, however, beat LeBron James and Co. three times in April.

Anything can happen in the playoffs, including devastating injuries. Rose's torn ACL was a crushing blow to a great young player, a great team, great Chicagoans, and even the entire league, for everyone will miss out on the pleasure of seeing great highlights and potential playoff magic from Rose.

But for the Celtics, Rose's injury made their road to a championship a little less daunting a task. It's a tough way to gain an advantage in a potential playoff series, but Celtics fans know it from the other side all too well with Kendrick Perkins tearing his ACL in Game 6 of the 2010 NBA Finals. Now, the Celtics may have been given a better shot at raising Banner 18 from a torn ACL, after their last attempt at Banner 18 was thwarted by a torn ACL.