Derrick Rose Injury: Why C.J. Watson, John Lucas Can Save the Chicago Bulls

Derrick Rose crumpled to the ground with just more than a minute left in the Chicago Bulls' Game 1 win over the Philadelphia 76ers as a mix of silence and shock swarmed over the crowd. Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer came sprinting over as Rose was clutching his knee.

Just like that, Rose's ACL tore, along with it went the hopes for the Chicago Bulls to win an NBA championship this year.

Or did they?

The Chicago Bulls are 18-9 without Rose, which means they are 32-7 with him in the lineup. Obviously, they are a better team with the reigning MVP, but does losing him automatically take them out of the running to be Eastern Conference champions?

C.J. Watson and John Lucas III are going to do everything in their power to keep that from being the case.

Watson and Lucas aren't going to be Rose, nor should we think they should be. The rest of Chicago's lineup is going to have to step up, and the road to the Finals is going to be a lot tougher, but it's certainly not out of the question yet.

During the regular season, Watson and Lucas got plenty of playing time as a result of various other Rose injuries, so they have experience playing in the position in which they're going to have to play.

However, there's about to be a lot more pressure.

Let's take a look at why Chicago's backup point guards have every possibility of saving the Bulls' season.

C.J. Watson

As a starter, Watson was good enough for the Bulls to win a handful of games, even keeping them on pace to be the best team in the Eastern Conference, but he's no Rose.

Watson's 11.3 points per game are 10 fewer than Rose's, and his 4.1 assists are almost half of what Rose dishes out on a daily basis.

However, one of the things that Watson does best is he keeps himself and the game under control. He's not going to take many games over (although he has done it a few times), and he's not going to shoot the lights out. But what Watson will do is minimize mistakes and maximize effort.

Basically, he's everything you'd want in a point guard stepping up from the bench to take over for the reigning MVP.

John Lucas III

Lucas is about to become the most important guy known as "the third" besides Robert Griffin in the sports world (sorry Davis Love, I've still got love for DLIII).

Lucas is a great guy to have in this situation, since he's basically going to act as J.J. Barea did for the Dallas Mavericks a season ago. Lucas can change the pace of the game, and with the ball in his hands, he can be a very dangerous player.

The injury to Rose is going to force more minutes upon JLIII, something the Bulls probably should have looked at in the first place. 

Bench Advantage

Watson will now be the starter, which means JLIII will now be first off the bench instead of a deep option at point guard.

Why is that a good thing?

Well, the second-most effective lineup the Bulls boast just so happens to include JLIII.

Obviously, the top lineup for the Bulls is the starting five of Rose, Brewer, Deng, Boozer and Noah, which clocks in at plus-112. However, spanking opponents' benches is the lineup of Lucas, Korver, Deng, Gibson and Asik, which has a +/- of plus-90. This is still going to be in play, as Lucas will be coming off the bench with this squad late in the first and third quarters.

Jason Kidd-J.J. Barea?

I've already talked about how JLIII has a bit of a Barea vibe to him as a small man who can cut and slash with the ball, keeping teams moving on their heels rather than their toes.

However, is Watson not good at controlling the tempo of an offense much like Jason Kidd did for the Dallas Mavericks last year?

Kidd is obviously a better passer, but Watson has that same calm manner and good decision-making ability to lead this offense and keep the team's defense running smoothly. This makes it so the first unit is running a calm, well-oiled offense while the second unit runs a bit of organized chaos—much like the Mavericks did with Kidd and Barea.

Chicago's chances at winning a title did just slim down a bit, but I wouldn't count them out so soon.