The Chicago Bulls can’t have a moment of peace when it comes to Derrick Rose and his never end series of injuries, a left orbital fracture this time. There’s also the tension between him and backcourt partner Jimmy Butler that might be even more severe as far as how it’ll influence the team.
Rose got elbowed in the face during practice, as in the training camp that just started. While this isn’t such a serious injury for an NBA player, it’s still going to keep him out of action for some time, and considering his history since the 2011-2012 season, playing just 100 regular season games since the beginning of that year, than it’s understandable to see the overreaction from everyone on this matter.
The bigger issue might be Rose and Butler. Although it’s obviously being overplayed by the media, rumors about tensions between the two have been going around for quite a while. Maybe it’s just their personalities not meshing as Butler grows into a more and more dominant player on this team, and perhaps it’s simply a matter of ego.
For a team that hasn’t made any changes to a roster that lost in the conference semifinals last season, cohesiveness is a crucial thing. Rose getting injured in the face and missing some practice time hurts, obviously. But Rose and Butler not getting along and who knows, maybe actually hating each other, could be the real poison pill for another Bulls season.