So it's been more than two weeks since I've wrote anything meaningful, well, besides the truth about J-Cutty knocking up K-Cav of course. But since then the Bulls have played 11 games and have gone 9-2 in that stretch. This includes the one and only back-to-back-to-back series which the Bulls are the only other team (OKC) to win all three of those games. However during that stretch of games, DRose suffered a turf toe injury against the T-Wolves (all joking aside, Ricky Rubio is the truth). Since then he played in the rout against the C's and Raptors, and has sat out the rest of the games. Today he is listed as a game time decision against the Cavs, although many thing he won't play. He's said that he has had this toe injury since his 2nd year in the league and it hasn't really bothered him until now. He describes the pain as the worst it's ever been, even though he says he wants to play. Hard to believe that an injury that is described as "Turf Toe" can be this debilitating. But having never played contact sports, and being generally nonathletic, I'm not one to speculate. The masses are calling for DRose to suck it up and strap one on. But I say let him sit and here are my reasons:
Schedule - The Bulls play the Heatles on the 29th. The only other team the Bulls play worth mentioning before then are the Pacers. Otherwise all the other teams are cake. Other than this statement being the ultimate jinx, the Bulls should go 5-0 before taking their talents to South Beach with DRose as healthy as possible.
Defense - The Bulls offense is, how can I put this lightly, not good. They are 14th in the league in points scored. However, they are 1st in the league in points allowed. As we saw last year and in year's past with the Celtics, staunch Defense can help win most games.
Luol Deng - The underlying story of the season. This guy is an absolute work horse. He's logging a lot of minutes and is performing well both offensively and defensively every night. He is often asked to guard the opposing team's best player and still manages to put up 15-20 points a night. If Rose sits for a prolonged period of time, Luol will have to pick up the slack, as will Rip and Boozer.
Big Picture - The goal of this season is to obviously win a 'ship. Home court advantage is great, but not necessary. The Bulls proved last year that they can win playoff games on the road (unless the opponent is Miami). Best record in the East isn't the most important thing. If you can remember (hard to forget) how bad Boozer was in the playoffs because of his turf toe injury. He had zero lift and lacked explosiveness. Can't afford that to happen to Rose when those big games come around.
Derrick needs to get as healthy as he can and the truncated schedule wouldn't help anything. Getting to the playoffs with a healthy Derrick is a priority. Beating the stupid Cavs without him is a certainty. Plus, the Bulls have the White Mamba to close out games. Dude is like the Mariano Rivera for the Bulls. Why doesn't he get more burn from Thibs? Teams are just doubling him because they are scared of his uncanny scoring ability. What is the scouting report on this guy? "Scalabrine - Can't allow dribble penetration, double team him anytime he gets the ball" With the incredible court vision that only a ginger could have, when the double comes he somehow finds the open man. He is just being a boss, facilitating the rock, and tossing up quick dimes to the Turkish Hammer. Who needs CP3 when you've got Scals coming off the bench, refusing to score, and setting teammates up on the reg.
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