The Bernstein Brief: Derrick Rose, Bulls Need Work
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) Uncertain as ever, he's content to leave everyone hanging.
Derrick Rose is in the middle of the return timetable laid out by the Bulls -- Friday marks week five of the generous four-to-six-week recovery window for a routine partial meniscectomy -- and he needs game action before the playoffs.
He has to play, and his team has to play with him, figuring out what this is going to look like before the playoffs begin. Rose dominates the ball, so it's no small thing to reintegrate him back into the offense. A comeback against Philadelphia on April 11 would seem reasonable, giving them three real games to reintroduce Rose to a team increasingly reliant on the skills of Nikola Mirotic.
It's nowhere near ideal, but it's better than no work at all. And the Bulls need it, as soon as possible, in something beyond a freindly practice environment. Rose has to get out there and go, even if he feels something less than perfect. He owes it to his teammates, his employer and himself to push as hard as he can.
Instead of asking "Who knows?", he should be telling us that he does.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. Follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.
