The Chicago Bulls played all last season without star Derrick Rose and now the team could be headed for a similar situation, as Rose injured his knee in the loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night and now he will be out indefinitely starting with the Los Angeles Clippers game on Sunday afternoon at the Staples Center and streaming online from the NBA website league pass.
The Bulls came into the game playing better than earlier in the season, but losing Rose in the game to the Blazers was too much to overcome and now the team has to wonder how long he will be out. Rose injured his right knee this time, which is not the knee he had surgery on last season and while that is a good sign at least, it will be tough for the Bulls to overcome his loss, no matter how long he is out. The battle between Rose and Chris Paul would have been an exciting one to watch and now the team has to play the Clippers without him and after an MRI showed a tear in the knee that will need surgery, it could be a while before he returns. The play when Rose got hurt happened when he was freed up and moving to get on defense while changing his direction and the knee gave out and he left the arena on crutches and he will be getting surgery on Monday and now it brings up a number of issues for the team, especially about whether Rose can return fully healthy.
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Rose did not play last season after getting ACL surgery and the Bulls were able to win 45 games and a playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets, but this time around things could be tougher, as the team was expecting Rose to return healthy for this season. The Bulls are now on a quick road trip and after losing to the impressive Blazers, the team now has another game against the Los Angeles Clippers and that was an anticipated matchup and Rose will not be in the lineup. The Bulls will now have to rely even more on Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer and the team is also without Jimmy Butler as he is dealing with a foot injury and now the team will have to pull together to overcome the loss once again.
Rose seemingly had the potential to lead the Bulls to a championship after winning the MVP award, but the injury last year put the question as to whether he could return healthy and while he did come back this season, he seemed to be missing an edge and now his future is in question even more. Rose is still young, but this could have an impact on this season and beyond and he came into the game shooting under 40 percent for the season. Rose is now out indefinitely and the Bulls will have to continue to rely on their defense, which ranks third in the NBA with 90 points per game and in rebounding, where they rank first behind Boozer and Noah.
The Clippers are coming into the game after a close win against the Sacramento Kings and they will next host the New York Knicks on Wednesday after playing the Bulls and they come into the game 9-5 on the season. The team is ranked second in scoring and second in assists per game and 28th in scoring defense.
