The Chicago Bulls basketball team waited all last season for their star player, Derrick Rose, to recover from a torn left anterior cruciate ligament repair after damaging his knee in action in the 2011 playoff game against the Philadelphia 76ers. He spent the entire 2012 season on the bench watching the action.
As the playoffs drew near in 2012 and it looked as if the Bulls might still have a chance, speculation abounded over whether Rose would play in the playoffs. He chose not to and most fans backed him up. Let the star get well and we will have another go at it next year.
The Bulls went 6-6 in the early going this year. Derrick Rose played in just 11 games before going down again, his time damaging the other knee and incurring yet another season ending injury. Bull’s physician Brian Cole, who fixed his knee last year, operated on the other one reattaching the meniscus in the right knee.
Recovery is expected to take at least 6 months although no one is speculating much about it at this point. Rose is still only 25 years old so the investment in adequate recovery time would certainly be justified.
Derrick Rose is one of the most highly respected young players in the NBA. At age 22 Rose was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for 2012, quite an honor for one so young. He signed an excellent 5 year contract extension with the Bulls for a whopping $94,800,000 which, at the time was about 30% of the Bulls salary cap.
As for the Bulls and the rest of this basketball season, the bottom has sort of dropped out and Las Vegas bookmakers agree. Chicago opened the season at 6-to-1 to win the NBA Championship this year. Since the Rose injury, those numbers have blossomed up to 20-to-1 and could well go higher yet.
Here is a quick look at what Las Vegas Sports Books are offering in the way of odds to win the NBA Championship this year with last week’s odds in parentheses.
HEAT 7-4 (9-5)
THUNDER 9-2 (6-1)
PACERS 5-1 (6-1)
SPURS 8-1 (10-1)
CLIPPERS 12-1
WARRIORS 12-1 (10-1)
ROCKETS 12-1
BULLS 20-1 (7-1)
BLAZERS 20-1 (30-1)
GRIZZLIES 25-1 (40-1)
WOLVES 30-1
MAVERICKS 40-1
NETS 50-1 (25-1)
KNICKS 60-1
RAPTORS 60-1 (100-1)
PELICANS 75-1
LAKERS 100-1 (300-1)
NUGGETS 100-1
HAWKS 100-1
CAVALIERS 100-1 (75-1)
WIZARDS 100-1
PISTONS 100-1 (60-1)
