What Derrick Rose's Latest Surgery Means for Bulls and Eastern Conference

At this point, it’s tough to imagine Derrick Rose is ever going to reach his full potential, which is a travesty for not only Chicago Bulls fans but fans of the league in general.

Still not four years removed from being named NBA MVP and being considered one of the game's consensus top five players, Rose might again have to sit out due to injury for quite possibly the remainder of the season.

While another knee injury and surgery are sure to have an impact on the point guard’s future, not to mention the future of the franchise, the Bulls have to focus on the here and now—and right now Chicago is in a fight in the Eastern Conference standings.

Sure, even without its star, who was putting up 18.4 points and five assists per game, the chances of Chicago completely missing the playoffs are almost non-existent. It would take a record-breaking collapse to see the Bulls, who are closer to first than ninth in the standings, miss out on postseason play.

But while the loss of Rose won’t endanger a playoff spot, the United Center—and the entire NBA—is going to feel the impact.

Kiss title hopes goodbye

With Derrick Rose the Bulls are a dynamic offense, with two of the league’s most improved players in Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol, and a scary good defensive team led by Joakim Noah and coach Tom Thibodeau.

Without him, though, the offense will take a significant step back, and the Bulls will have to revert back to being the defensive-minded team that had made the playoffs in recent seasons but never threatened to win the championship.

Gasol will still be a focal point in the offense moving forward as one of the game's best passing big men, but the real weight is going to have to fall on the shoulders of Butler.

Considered the favorite to take home this season’s Most Improved Player Award, Butler is averaging 20.3 points per game and is 21st in the NBA in WAR, according to ESPN.com. But that has all been with a healthy Rose to open up the offense.

Last season Butler put up 13.1 points per game with Rose only playing in 10 games, in very much the same role he has today. His numbers aren’t likely to drop that sharply that quickly, but unless Butler transforms into James Harden, the Bulls are out of the title picture without Rose.

Aaron Brooks is the next man up

The Bulls won't win a championship unless Aaron Brooks develops into a superstar overnight.

The former Oregon point guard has been in a backup role for most of his career, although he started several games in 2009-10 for the Rockets, averaging 19.6 points and 5.3 assists per game. He has filled the backup role nicely for Chicago this year.

Now, though, he is going to step in as Rose’s replacement on a team that had championship-or-bust aspirations before the season started. Brooks has always been a competent point guard but has never set the league on fire with his play.

Expect Brooks’ numbers to increase (he's averaging 19.9 minutes and 10.6 points per game so far this season from the bench) with the injury to Rose. He isn’t a player for the future at the ripe old age of 30, but he can be a player for the present, as he proved during his brief starting stints in Houston.

Even if Brooks is good though, the Bulls might add a little bit of insurance in the form of diminutive point guard Nate Robinson as well, according to Sam Amick of USA Today. If the move goes through, it could become one of the more intriguing point guard situations in the NBA.

Perhaps even more important than Butler taking on an even bigger role offensively, Brooks will have to fill the gaps left by Rose and make things easier on the rest of the Bulls who are stuck with a task they never envisioned.

Cleveland loses another rival

Although I don’t have empirical data to support this statement, my gut feeling is that if you were to poll the 10 general managers of teams that are battling for a playoff spot in the Western Conference about which team they would least like to face in a hypothetical NBA Finals matchup, it would be the Cavaliers.

Winners of 16 of its last 18, Cleveland is the hottest team in the NBA right now, and with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving hitting on all cylinders, few teams could take the Cavaliers down on any given night.

One of those teams was a Derrick Rose-led Bulls. The Bulls are currently leading the Cavaliers in the standings and picked them apart on February 12, just before the start of the All-Star break. That game can’t exactly be treated as the most accurate litmus test for either squad, though, as both were probably looking ahead to the weekend’s festivities.

Without Chicago in the East, the number of teams that can prevent a run for the Cavs to the Finals decreases by one. The Atlanta Hawks are still capable, as are the Toronto Raptors, but outside of those two it is hard to imagine anyone else in the NBA’s weaker half overcoming the talent of the Cavs in a seven-game series.