NBA: 8 players to surprise in the playoffs
. G. Chicago Bulls. Derrick Rose. 5. player. 24
Derrick Rose will have the best series of his career against the Milwaukee Bucks.
It is tradition in Chicago lately to enter into the playoffs banged up and ready to lose in the first or second round. This season seemed to be no exception, as injuries to All-Star Jimmy Butler, defensive anchor Joakim Noah, sixth man Taj Gibson and, perhaps most importantly, offensive focal point Derrick Rose forced the Bulls into the familiar position of overplaying their bench in crucial games. It alwasy results in a better-than-expected regular season, and it also always results in an early playoff exit.
But now, with the playoffs about to start, the Bulls will most likely have their entire roster available to them. This is a little different than healthy, as Noah, Gibson and backup guard Kirk Hinrich are listed as day-today and will be hampered with injury. But it still will be a welcome change for a team used to playing postseason games at a disadvantage.
Derrick Rose has been slow to emerge from his knee injury this season. Due to his most recent injury and his slow and steady recovery, Rose’s narrative is already being written as a lost opportunity and a “what if?” story. But he is coming around just at the right time, right when the NBA has given up on him and the Bulls need him the most.
Rose will be matched up with Michael Carter-Williams for the majority of the series against the Bucks. The Bulls most obvious advantage for the series rests in their frontcourt with Noah and Pau Gasol, and so it is reasonable for the Bucks to defensively gameplan to collapse the lane. This will give Derrick Rose the opportunity to operate in isolation on the perimeter. Against Carter-Williams, Rose will be able to get to the basket on penetration, and when the defense inevitably collapses he has the opportunity to dish to his supporting cast.
This is all reliant on how comfortable Rose is with his body returning from injury. But this is his first playoff series since 2012, and his first series since his string of injuries. If Rose’s level of caution decreases, then the Bulls will be in perfect position to win the series.
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