NBA Chicago Bulls

Fan Flashbacks Will Ensue As Derrick Rose Returns To Portland

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By @AndrewPappas24

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Like most Chicago Bulls fans, I remember the day Derrick Rose tore his ACL back in 2012.

I can vividly hear the words of TNT’s Kevin Harlan, “Holding onto his knee. Holding onto his knee and down.” I remember who I was texting when it happened. I remember the Chicago sports talk radio shows discussing it after the game. I remember nearly everything about that day. It shook Bulls fans like they’ve never been shook before. The hometown hero had been proven mortal.

Then came the Adidas “The Return” web series. Rose’s hard work in rehabilitation was put on display for the basketball world. He returned to full contact practice in January of 2013, was cleared to return to play in March, but did not appear in a single game that season or postseason. Despite the absence of the former MVP, the Bulls advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, where they lost to LeBron James and the eventual champion Miami Heat.

Coincidentally, his return to regular season basketball came against that same Heat team on Oct. 29, 2013. More than 500 days had passed since Rose was playing meaningful NBA basketball. Though he was clearly rusty, he showed flashes of the MVP D-Rose. He was gaining steam and getting more and more comfortable as each game passed.

Then it happened. Again. Less than a month after his return, Rose injured his knee in a Nov. 22 game against the Portland Trail Blazers. An MRI the next day confirmed that Rose tore his right knee meniscus and that surgery was required. The team announced that he would be sitting for the entire 2013-14 season.

Like most Bulls fans, I remember where I was watching that game. I can vividly picture Bulls trainer Jeff Tanaka sitting with the superstar on the bench in the stadium that, appropriately, was formerly known as the Rose Garden. I remember talking with my friends who I was watching the game with. I remember saying “he’s okay.” I literally could not believe that Rose suffered another devastating injury.

Throughout this rehab, though, there was no web series. There was very little heard from Rose or his camp. Despite his absence, the Bulls fought their way into the playoffs yet again last season. Coincidentally, Rose’s return, version two, came against James and his new team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. His play was very streaky in the early weeks of the season, but the Bulls were proving to be one of the better teams in the NBA.

Then it happened. Again. On Nov. 13, Rose went to the floor awkwardly as he had against the Philadelphia 76ers in 2012 and Portland in 2013. Thankfully, it was not another devastating knee injury, just a hamstring strain. However, that can be added to the two ankle sprains Rose has suffered already this season. He will likely be listed as “probable” or “questionable” for most of the season (if not the rest of his career), including Friday’s game in Portland — on that same stadium floor in the former Rose Garden.

For diehards like myself, the flashbacks will be chill-inducing. It will shake Bulls fans like they’ve unfortunately been shaken before. The hometown hero has been proven mortal twice before. Here’s to hoping his return to Portland is not as damaging as the two previous “returns” fans have seen from No. 1.

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