NBA Playoffs 2012: Reasons to BULLieve the Bulls Can Advance Without D-Rose

In a devastating 109-92 loss against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2, the Bulls faced an even bigger loss at the United Center on Saturday when point guard Derrick Rose fell to the ground in agonizing pain.

Jaws dropped as sounds of disbelief swept across the Madhouse on Madison. Fans slowly rose to their feet, concerned, and that is when the crowd went silent. From the court side, you could hear the thoughts of Bulls fans sitting in the nosebleeds. Any chance of a championship quickly went from a reality to a dream.

After a 27-game absence this season, Bulls fans were thrilled to finally see Derrick Rose explode on the court in the playoffs. He was off to a slow 1-7 start until he flipped on the MVP switch, scoring six points in one minute. He helped lead the Bulls to a 103-91 victory over the 76ers. Just shy of a triple-double, Rose had 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists.

There is no doubt that Derrick Rose maintained the momentum and energy the Bulls needed to succeed. His rotating spin moves and crossovers to the basket were back in action, but maybe it was all too soon. For fans, maybe it was just too good to be true.

The Chicago Bulls ended their season at the number-one spot in the NBA with a 50-16 record. Rose missed 40-percent of the season, but that did not stop the “bench mob” from going 18-9 without him.

BUT, who is the guy the Bulls go to when they need a quick basket? Derrick Rose.

Who does coach Tom Thibodeau depend on to take the game winning buzzer beater? Derrick Rose.

Who is the go-to clutch man the Bulls put all their faith in? Well, that should be easy. It’s Derrick Rose!

Can the Bulls advance without Derrick Rose?

The answer: YES. 

The Bulls' "Bench Mob" Will Advance to the Eastern Conference Finals

Media airwaves have been clogged with endless skepticism ever since Derrick Rose's 2012 playoff journey came to an abrupt end on Saturday after an ACL tear. Let's just take a moment to organize our Bulls thoughts and not jump to any hasty conclusions here. 

How quickly we forget about the energy and talent the Bulls bring up and down the court without Rose in the game. Their coach, former coach of the year, Tom Thibodeau, has devoted his life to the Bulls and it is accurate to say that he has produced a dynamically proficient basketball team. He also developed one of the best defensive teams and best benches in the league.

The Bulls bench was able to beat some current playoff teams including the Miami Heat, the Orlando Magic, the San Antonio Spurs, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Atlanta Hawks and both the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks TWICE without Derrick Rose in the game. 

Some can argue and say that regular season basketball differs greatly from playoff basketball; however, one cannot argue and say that those teams listed above did not try to beat the Bulls. It was evident that the Bulls were not desperately seeking Derrick Rose.

Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer are two of the Bulls' starters who have improved significantly from last season to this season. Only missing two games, Noah has had himself an exceptional season. He averaged 10 points, nine rebounds, two assists, one block, and six steals per-game. On top of that, he has 22 double-doubles and one triple-double under his belt. I must also give props to Boozer after discovering he had a perfect attendance this season. He participated in all 66 games, averaging 15 points and 8 rebounds. 

Rip Hamilton has been a helpful addition to our team. Despite his injuries, he has the experience of a 12-year veteran, he can actually say he's won a ring, and his style of play works well with the Bulls.

John Lucas, Bulls third-string point guard, has also been a huge help off the bench this year. Against the Miami Heat this season, Lucas put up 24 points after going 9-12 from the field and 3-5 beyond the arc in a 106-102 Bulls win. And no, Derrick Rose did not play in that game. 

Bulls second-string point guard, C.J. Watson, also lead a victory over the Heat in the overtime. After Rose went 1-for-16 in shooting, Watson took control and scored 16 points, 9 assists, and a three-point shot to tie the game with 2.2 seconds left in regulation. His three-pointer led the Bulls to overtime and a win, outscoring the Heat on a 12-2 run.

Obviously, we have seen Kyle Korver improve at the three-point line and Luol Deng improve offensively and defensively. Ronnie Brewer has been a non-factor for the past two seasons and Taj Gibson has inconsistency written all over him. However, when one of these players starts to click, the rest of the team gets in sync.

If the Bulls want to win, their entire team is going to have to step up, especially in transition. The two areas that messed up the Bulls last postseason were their total of 200 TURNOVERS and 340 FOULS in 16 games. 

Again, I repeat, FOULS and TURNOVERS were the Bulls BIGGEST problems in the postseason last year.

Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, and Luol Deng are three starters who have improved extremely from last year. All three have confidence in shooting the ball and look a lot more consistent offensively and defensively. Noah improved in all areas and increased his shooting and rebounding percentage. Boozer is smarter about the shots he takes and Deng is a great defender.

All eyes are on Deng and Boozer because of their performances in the playoffs, but it is only the first two games.

The Bulls' 109-92 loss against the 76ers does not mean anything. It is ONE game. The 76ers got lucky. Any sports fan knows the Bulls, with or without Rose, are better than the 76ers.

All the mistakes that were committed by the Bulls last night are EASILY fixable, especially when they have a coach like Tom Thibodeau. The Bulls are a dangerous team; do not fall asleep on them. 

Derrick Was Not so Rose-y in the 2011 Playoffs

So, the Bulls really need Rose in the playoffs, huh?

Well, where on Earth was Derrick Rose last year during playoffs?

Yes, Derrick scored a lot of points, which obviously helped the Bulls move forward, but he presented a weak basketball performance in all areas. He shot 39-percent from the field and 24-percent from the three-point line. Derrick's three-point shooting seems to be a consistent problem. In the Bulls' first playoff game last year against the Pacers, Rose went 0-9 from beyond the arc. In Game 4 against the Pacers, Derrick shot 27-percent from the field and 11-percent at the three-point line. I must not forget to mention that Derrick Rose committed 59 turnovers and 33 fouls in the entire 16 game playoff. Wow. MVP? Really? The MVP was clearly absent during the playoffs.

In the 2010-2011 season, the Chicago Bulls were the NBA's best fourth-quarter team during the regular season. The Bulls were able to outscore the Heat by 12 points in the fourth quarter in Game 1 of their playoff series, but the Heat fired back in Games 2-4 by outscoring the Bulls by 24 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.

The four and fifth games of the playoffs against the Heat really exhibited Rose's weaknesses. In the fifth game, he went 9-29 from the field and 2-8 from the three-point line. LeBron's defense had Rose shooting 1-5 in the final 10 minutes. Derrick missed what should have been a three-pointer and then immediately fouled LeBron, who made a pair of free throws.

With three minutes left in regulation Rose makes a horrible pass, Wade steals it, makes the layup, and who is there to foul him for the and-one? Derrick Rose. Another horrible play. There is one minute and 30 seconds left in regulation. Dwyane Wade makes a 27-foot three-point jumper and Derrick Rose fouls AGAIN, giving the Heat a four-point play. At this point Rose earned himself five fouls and four turnovers in Game 5. Sorry, but I blame that loss on Derrick Rose.   

In the fourth quarter of Game 4, Derrick missed a 17-foot jumper with 28 seconds left to break the tie. And AGAIN, Rose misses a 18-foot jumper to potentially win the game with one second left. In overtime, despite Derrick Rose blocking Wade's three-point jumper, the Bulls managed to get a shot clock violation.

Luol Deng made a terrible pass which was stolen from LeBron, and who is there to foul? Derrick Rose. Noah gains the rebound of LeBron's missed shot, but who loses the ball? Derrick Rose. Wade steals it, and makes the layup. At the end of this game, Rose had seven turnovers and three fouls. He went 1-9 from the three-point line and 8-27 from the field. MVP where are you? Nowhere to be found.

Derrick Rose takes way too many shots sometimes. He dribbles the ball too much resulting in turnovers. Like I said, he had 59 turnovers throughout the playoffs. That is unacceptable in my opinion.

Yes, the Bulls need Rose to set up plays, but I do think the Bulls have a shot without Rose. Yes, pun intended. His clutch-gene was just not there in the playoffs at all. 

Not so Rose-y for the Bulls in the 2011-2012 Season Either

Derrick Rose missing 27 games of the Bulls 66-game season is not new news. He has suffered several injuries throughout the 2011-2012 season. Although the season was obviously shortened by 16 games, we cannot forget the number of ankle injuries we saw Derrick go through in the 2010-2011 season, yet he managed to play 81-out-of-82 games. The way Derrick plays is a true ankle breaker. He is bound to get hurt, but could any of his injuries this year be the cause of not resting at all last year? Maybe. 

The Bulls went 18-9 without Derrick Rose. Every player stepped it up on the court and they worked together to win against teams Derrick struggled with this season. 

After missing 12 games in a row, Derrick came back to play against the New York Knicks. Bad decision? I think so. Although he scored 29 points, he had eight turnovers and missed an easy layup to the basket that would have won the game. The Bulls lost 100-99 against the Knicks.

The Bulls' next game was against the Knicks again. Derrick sat out this game and what happened? The Bulls won 98-86, thanks to Luol Deng, Rip Hamilton and Kyle Korver, who all had outstanding games. Was Rose's absence a factor? Yes, a huge one. They won without him against the same team they lost to with him playing two days earlier.  

Rose played in the next game against the Miami Heat. The Bulls won 96-86, but Derrick was a non-factor. He played for 25 minutes, scoring ONLY two points. He went 1-13 from the field and 0-3 from the three-point line. It was second-string point guard, C.J. Watson's game. He gave the Bulls 16 points, nine assists and a three-point shot to tie the game with 2.2 seconds left in regulation. His three-pointer led the Bulls to overtime where they completely dominated the Heat, outscoring them on a 12-2 run.

Alongside Watson was Carlos Boozer, who achieved his 16th double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Luol Deng scored 16 points and had five rebounds, while Kyle Korver scored 17 points in his 19 minutes of play. Taj Gibson gave the Bulls 11 points, five rebounds, and one block.

Talk about the Bulls bench. When they get together, they are dangerous, there is no doubt about it. Their teamwork is definitely a force to look out for because if one of them is sinking in shots, you'd best believe the rest of the bench is joining. Chicago just needs to play as if it is just another regular game. The word "playoff" seems to scare off many players, but if they just act like they are playing another game the Bulls should be fine without Derrick Rose.

There is no denying how well Derrick played in the first game of the playoffs against the 76ers. He almost went for a triple-double, but he was playing at the intensity he usually plays at when he is healthy. There is no way Derrick Rose was 100-percent healthy to be playing at that level in Game 1, hence the reason he tore his ACL. I am not going to say that he should not have been playing, because I think he should have. I just do not think he should have been attacking at the force that he was. He needed to get back into the game slowly and he forced it way too much. He was bound to get injured. If his ACL tear was not in Game 1, it would have been the next game. Now, the Bulls are left without him, again.

I predict the Bulls in the Conference Finals versus the Miami Heat. I do have faith and confidence in the Bulls bench to make a miracle happen. They have the experience together as a team and former best coach in the NBA, Tom Thibodeau, who I still think is the best coach in the NBA this year. His defensive coaching strategies have helped the Bulls overcome Derrick Rose's injury.

If the Bulls were able to do it without Rose in the regular season, what makes you think they cannot do it in the playoffs?

Well, think again. Do not sleep on the Chicago Bulls.