No Matter What Derrick Rose Does, He Won’t Win With Some

It’s been a long five-year stretch for Derrick Rose. Injury after injury, the once-great explosive guard that captured Chicago’s heart, can’t seem to regain more than just his explosion and lightning bolt-like speed.

Derrick Rose won’t play on Friday night in Atlanta against the Hawks.

He didn’t play on Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards either.

And according to ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell, Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg “didn’t sound very confident” that Rose would play on Saturday against the Portland Trail Blazers.

And you know what? That’s perfectly fine.

Since the lockout-shortened season in 2011-12, many Bulls fans have been begging for Derrick Rose.

Not the Rose that has had three knee procedures before his 28th birthday.

They’ve wanted the Rose that threw down reverse dunks in Madison Square Garden. They’ve wanted the Rose that won the Skills Challenge during the NBA All-Star Weekend in 2009. They’ve wanted the Rose that became the youngest NBA MVP ever after the 2010-11 season at the age of just 22.

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And for a bulk of those Bulls fans, nothing Rose can say or do will satisfy their wants and needs as a fan.

Whenever Rose mentions that he’s taking more care of his body so he’s not limping at his son’s future educational success points or in future meetings for his life away from basketball, he sets himself back in the eyes of some without meaning to.

When many hear things like that, it turns them away from one of the league’s most explosive athletes. There was a time that Rose could do no wrong. He became one of the NBA’s most beloved players and a god among those residing in the City of Broad Shoulders.

And ever since his knee gave out on him late in a playoff game four years ago, his career trajectory and his fan base haven’t been the same.

Will Gottlieb of Chicago Bulls Confidental; a blog with the ChicagoNow community, wrote a piece on the unfair criticism of Rose and how it’s fine for Rose to approach playing with uncertain health issues.

"The NBA has moved on from the days of playing through nagging injuries and prioritizing heavy minutes over bodily health. The best run franchises – Spurs, Warriors to name two – find time for their stars to rest. While their record affords them the space to rest players, given Rose’s injury history and recently elevated production, rest should be a priority for Rose too."

Tyler Pleiss, a blogger over at SB Nation’s Blog a Bull, made a similar comment regarding Rose missing in action:

Also, I find it funny we applaud Pop for sitting guys, but the minute Rose wants to rest and get his body right we ridicule him.
— Tyler Pleiss (@Tyler_Pleiss) February 26, 2016

There are many that don’t see the big picture, which is completely understandable. But, this isn’t the era of basketball that Charles Barkley never stops talking about during TNT’s coverage on Thursday nights. Times have changed. Teams and players recognize the importance of staying healthy.

You probably forgot that NBA commissioner Adam Silver has put an elevated focus on limiting “back-to-back sets” on the NBA regular season schedule, didn’t you?

The point is, it’s OK for Rose to rest.

More bulls: Derrick Rose is Key if the Bulls Make Playoffs

Let’s be honest here, even if — and holy crap, it’s a major if at that — the Bulls make the postseason in their current status, who exactly do you seem them beating in a seven-game series? If they finish where they sit right now (sixth in the Eastern Conference), they would play the Boston Celtics in the first round. That’s a horrendous matchup for the Bulls, who lost two of their three meetings with the Celtics this season.

Not only is Rose missing time, Jimmy Butler is still a while away from returning from a knee injury, Nikola Mirotic is out another few weeks for sure and Joakim Noah has been done for the year since January.

So what if Rose missing a few games because of a nagging hamstring issue? He’s had those same kind of issues in the past.

I’m a little ticked that this Twitter user deleted their tweet to Bleacher Report’s Sean Highkin before Wednesday’s tip-off against Washington, but his response was golden:

Basically, the user said that Rose should suck it up and play through it.

To further run with Highkin’s point, if Rose gets seriously hurt, the Bulls are done. If you’re the Bulls, you might as well tank harder than Phildelphia or Brooklyn if Rose goes down for an extended period of time.

Next: Bobby Portis Should Be Playing More for Bulls

No matter what Rose does — play or sit out and rest — he can’t win with some fans. Many on social media will dust off the old “Derrick Rose playoff jersey” memes with a picture of a suit. Others will just tweet their disgust towards him.

It’s truly a no-win situation for Rose.

But, that’s OK … just as long as Doug McDermott continues to channel his inner Scottie Pippen.