After the first day of postseason play, two significant albeit sporadic starters this season, Derrick Rose and Iman Schumpert, needed first aid. The Bulls and Knicks are in ACL Hell because both guards succumbed to excruciating knee injuries. Rose's came with a little over one minute remaining in the game and is controversial - was Rose really still on the floor, as his coach alleges, because the 76ers were making a run or was he trying to pad his stat line and finish with a triple-double (he was one rebound and one assist shy) - but also has consequences beyond the Bulls' playoff hopes.
Team USA basketball is now missing one-fourth of its preliminary roster that will compete at this year's summer Olympics in London. Rose has been added to the mounting list of casualties that includes Chauncey Billups, LaMarcus Aldridge, Lamar Odom and Dwight Howard. 20 don't get to go to the games; the lineup is whittled down to a dozen players, but the most recent two hurt, Howard and Rose, were expected to have prominent roles on the team. As much as we've railed against Rose - and we're not the only ones ripping him (we didn't know Nike was the Greek goddess of negativity) - it would be wrong to refute that he's a very good player (but not the wunderkind the media make him out to be), just as it would be wrong to pen a Poison parody entitled, "Every Rose Has Its Torn (ACL)."
In the short-term, the Bulls will be fine. As we stated in the playoff preview, Rose isn't necessary for Chicago to push past Philly and reaching the conference finals remains realistic. As for the Knicks, the Heat melted them like they were the T-1000, winning by 33 points, and that was with Schumpert, their best back court defender, out there until halfway through the third quarter. Carmelo, who finished 3-15, couldn't throw it in the Atlantic Ocean and if Anthony can't swish shots, the Heat will be saying, "Hasta la vista, baby-face."
*with emphasis on the "jerk"
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