Derrick Rose Injury Just Bad Luck

It is an absolute shame that Chicago Bulls star guard Derrick Rose tore his ACL Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers. Rose, one of the NBA's best young talents, was injured driving to the lane late in the 4th quarter. The Bulls won the game 103-91, but at what cost? Now, the top seed in the East must play the rest of the playoffs without their leader.

As you might expect with an injury like this, critics are quick to point blame. Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau is at fault for keeping Rose in the game when his team had already won the game. The NBA Lockout is the culprit because players have had to endure a grueling schedule in a short amount of time. Instead of trying to determine what caused Rose's injury, why not come to grips with this fact - it was was a freak occurrence that involved Rose's left knee going out on his drive to the basket. Simple as that. 

Throughout the years in all sports, coaches have always left their star players on the field or court late in games. It is easy to point the blame at a coach when a player, especially a superstar gets hurt in garbage time. However, the 76ers had trimmed a 20-point Chicago lead to 12, and Thibodeauwanted to take no chances with losing the lead. Unfortunately, his team suffered the worst outcome possible with Rose's injury. As far as blaming the NBA lockout, I do not disagree that the lack of days off contributed to more player injuries than the usual 82-game season. But Rose has been injury prone this entire season, missing a total of 27 games due to various ailments. Now, we will see if the Bulls can win in the postseason without their best player.