Plucking petals of the Rose only leaves the thorns: NBA

Breaking news! Derrick Rose just returned the DVD he had borrowed. Derrick Rose just returned his overdue books at the library. The word ‘return’ has been used with different combinations with Rose’s name. Its almost like someone has run a automatic simulator with the algorithm to come up with different variations of Derrick Rose + Return. I’m no worse apparently, but you be the judge of that after reading this.

Basketball critics have one job, to critique. Their entire livelihoods revolve around criticising professionals who make obscene amounts of money. There are various ways to respond to critics. Critique them back. Sneer at them. Shake your head derisively. Punch them. Pull their hair. Defend your game ad nauseum. Like I said, there are various ways. But the best players like to respond to critics in a common manner- let their game do the talking. Amnesty that. In two words, Kobe Bryant summed up his comeback to Marc Cuban after annihilating his team. Stars thrive on battling their odds and proving naysayers wrong. The brightest star in the city of Chicago is in the unenviable position of not being able to respond the only way he knows how, by letting his game do the talking.

We know Derrick Rose as a flaming ball of energy which crashes into the paint time and time again and basically wills the ball into the hole. Off the court that same ball of fire is subdued, a quiet and reflective presence which is engaging in its own reflective way. “Why can’t I be the MVP?” Rose mused the season prior to the one when he won the award. How many players would openly put that question in the media? Winning the MVP is not something you can wake up and get by putting in a day’s work. You have to consistently lead your team to victory time and time again and even then the award is no guarantee. For a player to put that out there speaks volumes about the kind of limitations he wants to put upon himself- none.

The same attitude is what is working against Rose right now. The uproar against Rose would not be so potent if he would rule out his return with no room for doubt. Yet he kept saying “We’ll see.” and “You never know. Maybe next game” or different variations of “Never rule it out.” Even though he has been cleared to play by the team doctors, every injury is different and he is well within his rights to take the call.

As a school kid, I had an ugly road rash scar on my knee from falling on the concrete basketball court. Technically, it was just a case of skin being scraped off my knee calling for a week of injections. But the depth and width of the cut meant that I could not flex my knee without tearing the scabs. For all practical purposes, my leg was as good as broken. Couldn’t run or flex it enough to ride a bike. It made me limp.

The doctor may have classified my injury as a road rash, an abrasion of the skin. Yet practically, it was not dissimilar to a broken knee in the limitations it placed upon me. And that was a simple scraping of the knee. Derrick Rose tore his ACL. That’s something more complicated. Regardless of Ricky Rubio coming back in nine months or Shumpert coming back in eight and a half months, Derrick Rose’s case is not homogeneous with other ACL tears. He and he alone can make the call of how soon he can return. He may have recovered enough to jog, but the strains he puts on his body are quite different to what a normally recovered ACL would withstand. Rose needs to be able to be Rose on the court. If he can’t contribute the way he knows how, he is hurting his team more then helping them and putting his career and the immediate future of his team at risk.

The Chicago Bulls have epitomised heart this season. Ending the 27 game win streak of the Heat, defeating the Nets, and even snatching a game from the Heat behind Nate Robinson’s heroic play. Every accomplishment of this team which is riddled with injuries is drawing a contrast with how much Derrick Rose is needed. With Hinrich and Deng being injured, this group has a very small shot at pulling off an upset. Even now with the Bulls down 3-1, there are some fans with fevered visions of The Return of Rose as their heroic savior in game 5. Even if Rose suits up, he hasn’t played competitive basketball in forever and its hard to imagine him having an impact with the Heat having the luxury of putting LeBron James on him.

Regardless of Rose not ruling his return out, we have to accept that it is not going to happen this season. And we need to stop questioning Derrick Rose’s resolve unless we are in full possession of the facts. Unless we can walk in his shoes, we can’t possibly know what physical limitations his knee has. Being the warrior he is, he could never admit that there is absolutely no chance that he won’t return. The same attitude which drew praise when he wondered “Why can’t I be the MVP?” is now inviting slings and arrows at his character.

Rose’s return will happen when it does, questioning his capability and heart is nothing other than speculation. After all he has done, he deserves the benefit of doubt. The Bulls will probably go down fighting to the Heat, but this season they have discovered something without Rose. They are this good. They are good enough to beat the Nets in the playoffs and to show that the Heat are not unbeatable. Return delayed is not return denied and next season when Rose finally puts on his shoes, provided he is healthy, he will be fueled by the relentless criticism heaped upon him when he couldn’t respond with his play. Blake Griffin suffered much the same after missing his first season and it gave him an unending reservoir of fuel to draw upon, and the time off to work on other facets of his game.

The return will happen when it will, we need to leave it alone and not throw around accusations. But there is a silver lining here. Plucking away at the petals of the rose only leaves the thorns, and the critics are only ensuring that the return stings the other 29 teams more when it happens. Pluck away.