The former MVP has been out for more than a year due to ACL surgery, while other NBA players who suffered the same injury, such as Iman Shumpert and Ricky Rubio, have already returned to the court and excelled.
Fans and analysts are comparing the situations and judging Rose for remaining on the bench. It is difficult to recall a star player ever receiving this type of backlash for not returning to action.
However, it is not just the fact that he is not playing that is causing controversy. His indecision about returning has allowed this to remain a story.
According to Nick Friedell of ESPN, Rose entered the postseason "most likely out" until the end of the year. However, he did "strongly consider coming back" against the Miami Heat, according to Bulls Insider Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com.
This inability to decide has led to more question marks, including from analysts like Charles Barkley, who says that "it's too late" to come back and that he "should have been back during the regular season" (via NBA.com):
If he had just stated at some point that he would not play until the start of next season, this might have gone away. Instead, Rose has gradually become more and more of a controversial figure in the city of Chicago.
Of course, he did not go from being loved to hated overnight; throughout the year, things have become progressively worse. Here is a look at how the general feelings surrounding the Bulls' star changed throughout the season.
Fans are smart enough to accept that tearing an ACL is a serious injury, and they knew they were looking at an extended absence from the team's best player.
People were willing to wait as long as they knew that moment where he would return to a standing ovation would eventually come.
Amazingly, the Bulls got off to a great start on their own and the optimism grew stronger. The eventual return of the injured point guard was set to make this team one of the best in the NBA. At least, that was the prediction around the time of the All-Star break.
Throughout the year, people waited for the moment when Rose would be ready to return. It appeared that was going to happen shortly into March, when ESPN's Melissa Isaacson reported that the point guard had been cleared to play:
Derrick Rose's doctor has cleared the Chicago Bulls' star to play, a team source said, but his long-awaited return to the lineup won't occur until he can confidently dunk off his left foot, Rose has told the team.
The team is not pressuring Rose, the source said, but the Bulls are confident he will return this season and are still hoping for a mid-March return, which would mark 10 months after his surgery.
By this time, he was already dunking the basketball during practice and showing signs that a return might be imminent.
Unfortunately, this continued to drag on for another few months. Every game he did not play started to seem like he was stalling for some unknown reason.
After time, fans started to become irritated of watching a player perform in practice without suiting up for games, and it started to lead to anger.
As time passed, those not truly involved in the situation started questioning Rose's character and his toughness. In addition, the fact that teammates Joakim Noah, Kirk Hinrich and others have played through injuries appeared to make things worse.
Then, of course, there were some humorous thoughts about Rose remaining on the bench. Mike Freeman of CBS had this to say at the beginning of Round 2:
That still was not as mean as a photoshopped "statue" that some felt Chicago should put up to recognize the player (via Darren Rovell of ESPN):
These are just some examples of the overall backlash, which ranges from playful joking to intense anger directed toward the once-loved star.
However, none of this changes the fact that he is still injured and is not planning on returning until he feels he is ready. All that these reactions do is put more pressure on him and raise expectations to unrealistic levels.
It is also important to note that his teammates have defended him throughout this entire process, including this recent statement by Noah, who has been the emotional leader of this squad (via Friedell):
If you tore your ACL and you have to be the starting point guard and have the expectations that Derrick has, then maybe you can judge, but everybody who hasn't been in that situation before should really shut up because I feel like it's just so unfair to him and to this team. We're fighting, and everybody's going to just s--- on somebody who's been giving so much to this organization. It's crazy to me.
Basically, no one knows what Rose is currently going through, so it is impossible to put ourselves in his shoes and judge him.
Nobody can make the decision for Rose to return except Rose, and fans should take him at his word when he says that he is not ready to help the team.
This backlash is completely unwarranted for a person that has done nothing wrong. He deserves better from fans in Chicago and across the country. Otherwise, the team will lose one of the best young players in the game for more than just this season.
No comments:
Post a Comment