Westerlund: The Cruel Fate Of Derrick Rose
By Cody Westerlund-
CHICAGO (CBS) – In tracing back to the moment the nightmare began, the first devastating knee injury that Derrick Rose suffered came on a play that symbolized why we'd all fallen in love with his game.
Using a screen from teammate Joakim Noah, Rose exploded from a near standstill by the tip of the Bulls' horn on the halfcourt logo in the final minutes of an April 2012 playoff opener at the United Center. Rose used the slightest of hesitations to freeze the 76ers big man who'd picked him up on a switch, then showcased a powerful pro hop to get back to his right in a flash. He'd landed a few feet inside the right elbow when his left ACL betrayed him.
It was a freak accident, so went the narrative.
Some 19 months later, it was a backcut that did Rose in a second time. With his Blazers defender playing him tight on the left wing, Rose made a beeline for the hoop. Noah's pass never reached Rose, whose right knee bent awkwardly, if only for a moment. The scene wasn't as gruesome with Rose staying on his feet, but you immediately knew there was something wrong as he hobbled about – a torn right medial meniscus, we'd soon discover.
Not again, we thought. This can't be happening again.
It's with those memories as context that we processed Tuesday night's news of Rose's latest career-altering health hurdle – another tear in his right medial meniscus, for which a surgery date and timeline for recovery was still uncertain as of Wednesday night.
In this case, there was no sight of a grimacing Rose limping around. There was no singular, vivid sequence that pierced our emotions. The Bulls haven't revealed when the injury occurred, and perhaps they don't even know the tipping point. The last we saw Rose following Monday's win, he was joking about his poor shooting performance.
Rose was fine, then he wasn't.
So we've just been left to wonder. When did the injury happen? How? Why? What's with fate being so cruel?
"Angry, sad," Noah said after the Rose-less Bulls fell 98-86 to the Hornets at home Wednesday. "You know, he doesn't deserve it."
This serves as the saddest reminder of it all, for both the Bulls and Rose handled this return about as well as they could have. Rose clocked the long hours to give himself a chance again, including devoting his summer to Team USA and playing the best competition there was to offer. He also embraced a more conservative playing style that showcased a tendency to hoist 3-pointers.
The Bulls understandably took a cautious approach with Rose that was marked by a minutes restriction, at-times limited practice participation and Rose sitting out some early season games. And yet after all that, his knee couldn't handle the wear and tear that comes with playing the pace-setting position in a sport with a grueling schedule.
This didn't happen by chance. It was Rose's 26-year-old body telling him that it can no longer do what's allowed him to escape a life of poverty, to partake in the game he loves and built his life around. Even his most ardent believers must admit the star has burned out on his comet, his flash gone and dreams of what once were dead. In a league of that star power, the hard truth is he can't be the best player on a championship team.
Just when it looked like Rose might be turning a corner – playing in 19 straight games and scoring at least 20 points in five of the six games before the All-Star break – came the next heartbreaking twist.
"I'm still shocked," Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich said. "I didn't have any idea that he had an injury like that (Tuesday) at practice. Just feel for him. I can't imagine what he's gone through here these last three years. Just when it seemed like he was hitting his stride and playing great, the team felt like he'd put it behind him, for this to happen is just, it's devastating."
To many, there also comes a sense of finality.
After missing Wednesday's game, Rose has now played in just 95 of Chicago's last 288 regular-season games. On top of that, he's missed the team's past 22 playoff games. Digest those numbers for a second, and it's hard to even have hope.
Through twisted misfortune Rose couldn't control, the hometown hero has become the organizational albatross. Rose is signed through the end of the 2017 season, set to earn $20.1 million next year and then $21.3 million in 2016-'17. It leaves little roster flexibility for the Bulls this offseason and will provide complications in summer 2016 as well, even if the salary cap skyrockets. With an aging roster and no true star, it's hard to envision the Bulls seriously contending for championships soon.
It was just after Monday's home win that those championship aspirations were so alive, evidenced by Noah's joyful exuberance that stood out in the Bulls' locker room. If not quite decipherable, he was happy and loud, to the point that teammate Jimmy Butler noted with a laugh, "He got a problem."
After a loss and a season-altering injury 48 hours later, the only noise to be heard was the idle chatter of reporters and the Bulls searching for explanations.
"I don't really know what to say," Noah said, once again reminded of a sobering reality.
Basketball can be so cruel.
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
