Derrick Rose Might Kill The Cavaliers In Playoffs
By Josh Hill
The return of Derrick Rose is good for basketball, but it probably really bad for the Cleveland Cavaliers if they meet up in the postseason.
It’s almost time for postseason basketball in Cleveland again — and it’s been a long time since we’ve been able to say that. But while things look to be set up for a nice run in the playoffs, the Chicago Bulls might end upping a thorn in Cleveland’s side before all is said and done.
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As it stands now, the Bulls and Cavaliers wouldn’t meet until the Conference Finals, as Chicago has slipped back to the No. 4 seed in the East. But that’s not something that the Cavaliers should be happy about, as it just prolongs what could be a bad series against the Bulls.
Of course, if the Bulls need to make it to the Conference Finals to face the Cavaliers, there’s a chance that they could get bumped off in the process. Chicago matches up right now against the Washington Wizards in the first round and would then have to make it through Atlanta or Brooklyn in the next round. All three of those teams could easily beat the Bulls — with Washington having done so last season.
Derrick Rose’s return is bad news for a lot of teams though, specifically the Cavaliers. He’s coming off a bad injury, but that means he could come off the bench — which means matchup in Cleveland against Matthew Dellavedova.
We all love Delly, even if some of us give him more crap than others. But if you have Delly matched up against Rose, it might not matter how tenacious a defender he is — Rose will kill him.
Like, Rose might actually murder Dellavedova on the court and we could witness the first basketball fatality in the history of the game. Delly is a great defender, but Rose is an MVP caliber player and he’s playing nasty hungry to get his swagger back. He has lost the respect and interest of a lot of people, and having a series against Delly where every play is a highlight is the kind of thing that gets him back int he spotlight.
That’s bad news for the Cavaliers and it’s a potential mismatch that could cause ore problems for the Cavaliers than they ever thought.
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