Is There Any Chance Derrick Rose Can Win MVP Again?
How about impossible scenarios for 200 Alex? All kidding aside, I will attempt to consider what most believe will never happen again. After multiple knee surgeries and a myriad of other injuries, can Derrick Rose beat the odds and hoist another MVP trophy?
Well, to accomplish that task Derrick may have to hoist another trophy first, you know, the one with Larry O’Brien’s name attached to it. The MVP trophy is generally awarded to the best player on the best team, not necessarily the best player in the world, but for sure the most valuable player on the best team.
LeBron James was universally acknowledged as the best player on the planet last year (just ask him he’ll tell you), but Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors won the MVP and the Championship.
Speaking of Curry (23.8 ppg and 7.7 apg led his team with 6.6 points in the paint), the fact that he defeated James in their first head-to-head matchup cannot be overestimated. The Warriors are currently 4-0 to start the 2015-16 season with games of 38 and 53 points from Curry.
He may end up being the best shooter of all time, so what did he spend his summer doing? Working out with team consultant Steve Nash….not good news for the rest of the league.
Maybe during the Anthony Davis coronation process someone should ask Mr. Curry what he thinks about just who LeBron James should pass the baton to. What about Rose?
How could the player deemed most fragile by a majority of Chicago fans and media pull this off? To put Derrick’s injuries into context, we should only look at the career of Grant Hill who after multiple foot surgeries returned to All-Star form (shout out to the Phoenix medical staff on that one).
Curry himself suffered from nagging foot problems until he didn’t. And remember Kyrie Irving to whom we may have to go back to his high school days to find an injury free season from him.
The point is Derrick may have seen the worst of his injury woes… provided he keeps his mask on.
In all fairness, the one criteria needed to put the pieces in place is and always will be to win. In a conference where the Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers are seen as the favorites, a slow start by the Cavaliers (due mostly to injuries) could open the door for the Bulls to get off to a fast start.
Is Derrick the same player? Probably not, but then he has revamped his offensive game to the point to where he no longer has to power over seven footers for dunks. There is a pretty good chance that the book on Derrick’s elite status may not be closed. Consider; the patience, focus and mental toughness needed to come back from three knee surgeries.
There’s more. Rose led the Bulls to the best regular-season record in the NBA for two seasons, all while working with a team nowhere as good as the one he has now.
There is a metric in the NBA known as the Kareem factor. Basically what that means is any time a player’s accomplishments warrant a mention like “not since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar” or he matched Kareem or he approached one of Kareem’s records, then we are talking about a serious baller.
Rose was the first player since Kareem to score over thirty points in his first playoff game as a rookie. Does this make Derrick a Hall of Famer? Well no, but what it does mean is maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to give up on the guy. The one aspect to consider is that Derrick still is in possession of the one trait that has defined point guards since the days of Bob Cousy, and that is speed.
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Rose can still blow past 95% of all NBA guards, but he has learned how and when to use it. Derrick is not a great outside shooter, but that’s not the point here. The Bulls currently sport one of the deepest benches in the league and they have young shooters in Nikola Mirotic, Doug McDermott and Tony Snell who are coming into their own.
Rose has more weapons to work with than at any point during his career, but if he can focus his efforts on becoming an attacking floor general in sync with his new coach, then the Bulls have a realistic shot. A shot at what you say? The Bulls have an outside chance to win a title depending mostly on who comes out of the West. The Clippers, Rockets or Grizz…yes.
Next: Chicago Bulls Must Raise Consistency Level To Win East
The Warriors, Spurs or Thunder…maybe not so much. To wrest the award from the future best player in the world (Curry), the Bulls will need 55-61 victories and Derrick will need to average at least 16 ppg and 10 apg. Can it be done? yes, but the Bulls better hurry before Curry decides to restore order to the galaxy.