Derrick Rose torn ACL, out for the rest of the playoffs

Thank you, IJAG...had the exact same thought.

 

Has anyone come all the way back from an ACL? I realize guys have reentered the league but it seems to be that they lose that edge that made them supremem athletes.

I think Danny Manning had one and he a decent NBA career but was hardly the dominant player he was expected to be. And way back didn't Ron Harper? Again, came back and was a solid guard but never flashed the ability he had preinjury.

 

I'll ask the question if no one else will: What's he doing in the game at that point? The five worst guys on the team ought to be able to protect a 12-point lead for 70 seconds.

 

Per Thibodeau: the 76ers were making a run, and had shaved eight points off a 20-point lead in the previous couple minutes. Bulls had their best guys on the floor.

More bad news: Knicks Iman Shumpert tore his ACL the same afternoon. Out 6 - 8 months.

 

What Azrael said, plus, it's the playoffs. Even when the Celtics were pasting the Lakers by 30 in game six or seven a couple years ago, I don't think any of the big three came out until late in the fourth quarter. I don't think you can fault any coach for riding his guys hard in the final one to four weeks (depending on how well you play) of the season.

 

Adding to what others have said - I still think the Bulls win this series, since they have more talent and defensive chops than the Sixers even without Rose, but it might be a six or seven game affair now. I can't see them getting past Boston in round two, since Rondo and Avery Bradley are going to devour their guards defensively, Ray Allen or no Ray Allen. They'd probably have a better chance with the Hawks, if they can get past the Celtics.

 

I just think that the fact that Rose has had a million nagging injuries this season alters that calculus. He probably wasn't in 100 percent game shape yet, and I wonder whether that makes one more vulnerable to this kind of injury.

Reading the papers today, though, it seems like most disagree with me.

 

It's not on the coach for keeping him in. It's on the player for not slowing the hell down and playing smart.

I'm more interested in asking why he was driving and running into a defender.

 

I'm more interested in asking why he was driving and running into a defender.
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Rose is a very smart player, but I agree: why was driving with 13 seconds left in the shot clock and 1:20 in the game. Thibs should have taken him out, and Rose should have milked the clock.

 

OK here's the skinny. Rose really didn't have a reason to be on the court but he's a basketball player and a competitor. His move to the basket was a natural instinct. Thibbs made a mistake in keeping him out there and it's a costly one.

 

He's missed a lot of time this year with unrelated injuries. He needed game time to get into game shape.

 

He had played in 39 games. He definitely wasn't in shape for the postseason.