More uncertainty to Chicago's in near future for Rose's back

NBA BOSTON—If this was a known quantity, that would be one thing. If Bulls point guard Derrick Rose had a sprained ankle or some kind of tendinitis, he’d go through the standard protocol, be out for some prescribed amount of time, and come back good as new. But back spasms?

Rose doesn’t know what to make of them. After the Bulls lost to the Celtics here on Sunday, with Rose sitting out, he told Sporting News he has never had back spasms quite like this before and, what’s more, he isn’t quite sure how they started.


The only thing he does seem to know about the back issue is that it is unrelated to the toe problem that kept him out in January. “I don’t know where it came from,” Rose said. “Hopefully, I can just be OK soon.”

The plan for Rose is to see a specialist when the team returns to Chicago. He had been nursing his way through the injury in the past week, logging just 11 minutes in a win over the Nets and 22 minutes in a win over New Orleans, before sitting out Friday’s game against Charlotte and Sunday’s loss to Boston. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said that Rose had some back issues in high school, and that the team was showing caution.

“You’re always concerned,” Thibodeau said. “The backs are tricky. That’s why he’s going to see a specialist.”

Indeed, the backs are tricky, and that’s why this has the potential to be a lingering concern for the Bulls—there’s just no telling when Rose will feel better, or whether he will be 100 percent in time for the playoffs. The Bulls have played well in Rose’s absence, with the loss to the Celtics dropping them to 5-2 without him, but the five wins have come against Charlotte (twice), Washington, Phoenix and Cleveland.

This is a team that has championship aspirations, that is looking to build on last year’s trip to the Eastern Conference finals, where they were ousted by Miami. Rose is obviously the key cog in that plan, but this year, his scoring has dipped from 25.0 points to 22.0 points, and his 3-point shooting has regressed (31.0 percent this year, down from 33.2 percent). Making matters a little more dodgy has been the groin injury suffered by shooting guard Richard Hamilton—he missed the Boston game and has only played 11 times this year.

That’s not to say the Bulls have anything to worry about in the short term. Chicago is 23-7 and has played 20 of those games on the road—they’re 14-6 away from the United Center, and 9-1 at home. They’ve been resilient in the face of injuries, with Carlos Boozer (oddly enough) the only starter to play in all 30 games. They are arguably the deepest team in the league, and that has helped them through this rash of injuries. The loss to Boston came in the final game of a nine-game road trip, which saw the Bulls go a very respectable 6-3.

This team has high standards, and in order to get past the same roadblock it ran into last year (the Heat in the conference finals) the Bulls need a different look. They have to develop offensive options beyond Rose, a role Hamilton figures to fill—if he can get on the floor and develop some chemistry with Rose. In his 11 games, Hamilton has averaged 14.2 points. But, with Hamilton and Rose ailing, how Chicago’s pieces fit together is a work in progress.

The Bulls won 62 games last year, and still came up short of the Finals. They want to avoid that fate this year. Even playing without Rose—something they may have to get used to for a while—the Bulls aren’t satisfied with their recent results.

“We want to be a championship team,” center Joakim Noah said. “We went 6-3 on this trip. That’s OK, but it is not great. For what we are trying to do, we aren’t happy with 6-3.”