Chicago Bulls fans, already reeling from the loss of Derrick Rose for the 2012 NBA Playoffs due to a severe knee injury, will be crushed by the latest blog post from noted sports kinesiologist Zig Ziegler. After reviewing Rose’s injury history and game tape Ziegler pointed out the extreme risk of another injury Rose faces given his style of play:
Now, one thing to keep in mind is that some of Rose’s injuries occur because he plays fearlessly with reckless abandon. It is that style of play that now with an ACL and MCL injury could lead to more injuries from Rose. In addition to the risk of more injuries (next up is either a reoccurrence of the left ACL tear or a tear of the right ACL within 12 to 18 months (which is actually pretty common).
Predicting someone who has had a knee injury will have another one might sound like crying wolf but Ziegler isn’t just some random fan or sportswriter. He works regularly with elite athletes and accurately predicted the injuries to Greg Oden and others.
Even if you don’t buy in to the dire future predictions you can should believe Ziegler’s expectation level for Rose’s immediate future:
When Rose comes back after surgery, his style of play will definitely change. We won’t see the old powerful, explosive Derrick Rose for 2? 3? Maybe 4 years, and that’s only if there are no setbacks over the first year. His signature “jump stop” power move could be what ends the career of another bright young NBA star. Keep in mind, an ACL injury is not like a meniscus/cartilage injury. It can be death to an athlete who relies on explosiveness and changing directions. The ACL and MCL provide stability to the knee, while cartilage essentially acts as a cushion. Rose needs stability of the knee for his game to be effective. It will be at least one year before Rose’s repaired ACL is healed enough to provide the stability for the types of moves Rose needs to make when playing.
It’s not at all uncommon to see guys be a step slow their first year back from a major injury so this isn’t terribly shocking. The real question is whether Rose and the Bulls training staff can put a plan in place that will insure he gets proper training and rest to insure he has a long career and doesn’t wind up turning into a Brandon Roy.
You can read Ziegler’s full post here.
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