Rose Return This Season? Bulls Not Ruling It Out

You want a bright side for the Chicago Bulls? Well, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors 110-99 Thursday night. Meaning the Warriors are 44-11. Meaning they won’t equal the Bulls’ NBA record 72-10 mark set in 1995-96. As if they were going to anyway.

Video below of Playboy Plus model Aleksa Slusarchi.

* You want more good news, Bulls fans? Derrick Rose is having surgery Friday (or already may have had it, depending on when you read this) on his right knee to remove all or part of a torn meniscus. That’s good news? Well, it could be worse. And Bulls vice president of basketball operations John Paxson told media at a team charity event Thursday night: “Our anticipation is that it’s going to be … an area that’s going to get taken care of. And the hope is that he will [play this year]. We still got about two months of the regular season, and we’re all hoping that he does [play this year].”

* More Paxson: “This will be something that’s hopefully easily corrected, and he’ll be better than ever. Feeling really good. maybe for the first time in a long time.”

* Once again, you can be assured that after Rose’s surgery the word will come down that it was “successful.” Meaning the patient survived the procedure. To assess whether Rose’s career as a top-flight NBA player will return is another matter. Especially because he failed to reach that level after his first two surgeries. Hey, but who’s counting?

* Any Bulls fan envisioning an NBA championship, you might want to refer to the two teams mentioned in the first paragraph of today’s effort. To reach the NBA Finals, the Bulls presumably would have to defeat the Cavaliers. Seems unlikely, given the way the Cavs have played recently (victories in 18 of their last 20 games) and given that LeBron James (42 points vs. the Warriors) still is on the Cavs. And — just for fun — let’s say the Bulls find a way to reach the Finals; they still would have to face the Warriors or a team of that caliber from the Western Conference. As unlikely that it is that the Bulls actually reach the Finals, it is even more unlikely they would capture the title. Unless Rose is back, healthy and playing at his 2011 NBA MVP level. And he hasn’t been that player since having to undergo his first surgery. So two surgeries later — and a much shorter time frame — he’s going to achieve that this season? Dream on. Then again, dreaming is what some fans do best.

* Rest in Peace, Earl Lloyd, the first African-American to play in the NBA. He was 86. Co-host David Spada and I had the privilege of speaking with him on our “Sports & Torts” show on Talkzone.com. To access the link to the interview, click here.

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