Chicago Bulls: Is Too Much Expected of Derrick Rose?

Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls was spectacular last season. He averaged 25.0 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds a game to earn his first regular season MVP award. He is athletic and fast, and has some of the sickest handles you'll find in the NBA.

Throughout the playoffs, the Bulls relied on Rose for a large amount of their production, forcing him to bump up his scoring by 2.1 points a game and lower his field goal percentage from 44.5 percent to 39.6 percent.

Especially in the conference finals, we saw Rose, along with the rest of the Bulls, crumble under the pressure brought on by the momentous Miami Heat.

So one has to wonder, is too much being asked of the young Derrick Rose?

It seems people forget that Rose is only entering his fourth year in the league, and they have taken the fact he's lead the Bulls to the playoffs three times in his three-year career for granted.

He is carrying the burden of already being considered a top-10 player in the league, and young players struggle to handle such an honor with the emotional toughness that is usually expected of veterans.

In the conference finals, Rose's Bulls were matched up against the Heat and their "Big Three" of Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James. Unfortunately for Derrick Rose, the ground he was standing on (his Bulls teammates) was slowly crumbling beneath him. Players such as Carlos Boozer were timid throughout the series, and Derrick became the sole breath of hope for Chicago.

Sadly, he couldn't handle going back and forth with Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.

Hopefully the extended offseason will allow Rose and the rest of the Bulls to come together and make a legitimate title run.