As it crazy as it sounds, there is a school of thought gaining some traction that the Chicago Bulls are better without Derrick Rose.

The Bulls are 16-7 in games Rose has missed with injury, and they're 1-0 -- Thursday's 96-86 OT win over the Miami Heat -- with Rose contributing next to nothing and being benched late in the game.

Summing up a response to that theory was Bulls guard C.J. Watson.

"That's crazy," Watson said Friday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "He's our best player, he's our MVP. We can't get to where we want to get to without him."

But can they win a championship with Rose scoring two points on 1-for-13 shooting, as he did Thursday? Rose said if he knew it was going to be that kind of night, he wouldn't have played.

"He was struggling a little bit," said Watson, who picked up the slack with 16 points, nine assists and three steals. "He’s been hurt a little and was trying to get his rhythm back, but I know eventually he'll be back to his normal self.

"He hasn't played a lot of games, especially since he hurt his groin and then he hurt his ankle, so it's just going to take some time ... I know for sure he'll be back to his normal self."