2011 NBA Season: Why a Shortened Season Will Benefit Derrick Rose

The NBA season is finally here. It took a while and it was ugly, but the season is finally coming. And with that, fans can start speculating and writing about the NBA once again.

The deal still is not finalized; the players and owners still have some final hoops to jump through. At this point, though, it does look like the season will finally begin. 

Free agency is expected to start December 9th, and speculation about who will go where will begin shortly. The season is expected to start a few weeks later, with the Bulls hosting the Lakers on Christmas Day.

The season is expected to be 66 games—a full 16 games shorter than it was originally scheduled to be. This shorter season, though, will benefit Derrick Rose.

Arguably the best male athlete in the country, and an extremely well conditioned NBA player, it seems as if D-Rose has no limit. He isn't Superman though. By the end of last season, Derrick was dinged up, sore and tired.

Derrick averaged around 37 minutes a game last season, which equals approximately 3,000 minutes played last season. That's tiring, no matter who you are. And we saw what happened in the playoffs—Derrick was still able to have some great games, but he appeared tired.

His field goal percentage fell from 45 to 39 percent; his three point shooting fell from 33 to 24 percent. This fall in his shooting was not due to better defense; Derrick and the Bulls had played each one of these teams before, and played phenomenally well. 

It's not because the other teams were playing better—different defenders had torched the Hawks, Pacers and Heat before. It's because he was tired. Despite all of his brilliance, Derrick still is human and has a limit before his body starts to hurt.

The playoffs were when that happened.

With a longer offseason, Derrick had more time to condition and prevent himself from getting tired. With a shorter season, Derrick won't play as many minutes. He will turn in some phenomenal performances this year as he leads the Bulls through the playoffs.