Imagining Derrick Rose’s NBA Career If He Never Got Injured | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

A big reason why Rose won the 2010-2011 MVP was the vitriol that followed LeBron James to the Miami Heat. He had a strong case to win the award (more on that later), but there’s no denying that LeBron’s move was a factor.

The honor also had a lot to do with the overall strength of Rose’s Bulls.

Chicago went 62-20, the best record in the NBA. The team led the league in points allowed per 100 possessions. And they had one of the NBA’s top four players in Rose, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah, three of whom were under the age of 26 (with Boozer being the outlier at 29).

When Rose held up the MVP trophy in 2011, it seemed like Chicago would be at or near the top of the title contenders for the foreseeable future.

However, injuries limited him to 39 games the following season. The infamous knee injury occurred in the postseason.

Suddenly, the Bulls were without their offensive engine and best player for the entire 2012-13 season and much of the three years afterward.

From the start of 2011-12 until Westbrook’s departure to the Knicks, they still ranked seventh in the NBA in winning percentage, but it was much harder to buy them as a bona fide contender. Had Rose’s passing, playmaking and finishing ability been consistently part of that run, Chicago might have won a title. The team was at the top of the East prior to the 2011 playoffs.

Instead of accomplishing that, the Bulls have spent the better part of the last decade wallowing in mediocrity and change.