ESPN

It was a year ago, on April 28, 2012, when Derrick Rose suffered a knee injury that is still being felt by the organization, its fan base and the entire NBA.

There was 1:19 remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals when Rose drove into the lane and jump-stopped. The grimace on his face was immediate as he tried to jump for a shot before crashing to the court holding his left knee.

The United Center fell silent as the worse was expected and later verified. Rose tore his ACL and would undergo surgery on May 12. The Bulls won Game 1 but would go on to lose to the eighth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in six games.

The prognosis was for Rose to take 8-12 months to rehabilitate and the process seemed to be going according to plan as periodic reports reflected steady progress. From doing basketball drills to practicing to taking full contact to scrimmaging five-on-five starting on Feb.18, Rose appeared poised to return after the All-Star break.

But suddenly the possibility that he wouldn't return this season started to surface in stories and interviews, and now it appears almost certain he won't be back at all this season.

ESPNChicago.com's Nick Friedell talked to many of those who were present at the time of the injury, and here are their stories:

Joakim Noah

"I just remember being up like 20 points and thinking we were going to win the championship. Even when he went down, it was weird but in my mind I was like, 'He could be out for a couple weeks and we'll be alright. We'll be ready for him to come back.'

"I even remember after the game I went to the Berto Center to go get some ice and get some treatment, I never do that, I was just so into it and then when I heard the news ... it was just hard. You know how hard we work every day, so to see him go down like that was tough. Not just for us as players but for the whole city."

“

It was a dark day. It was a dark day for us. We won that playoff game but Derrick getting hurt -- I'll probably remember that day for the rest of my life.

” -- Joakim Noah

When you first saw him on the ground what were you thinking?

"I just wanted to be there. Any time one of my teammates goes down I just try to be there for them. I didn't know how bad it was going to be. My mindset was more on just finishing the game and seeing him after."

How did you find out?

"My uncle called me. I can't believe I remember all this."

What was it like when you saw him the next day?

"It was hard, man. It was hard. I don't even like talking about it to be honest with you.

"It was a dark day. It was a dark day for us. We won that playoff game but Derrick getting hurt -- I'll probably remember that day for the rest of my life."

Carlos Boozer

(Long pause) "Truthfully, it was just sad, man. I couldn't really believe it. I was hoping it wasn't that serious but it was. Seeing him cry in the locker room, that was tough because he knew what happened already. It was tough, man. It's tough to talk about."

Did you know when he went down?

"No, I didn't know. I was just hoping it wasn't that bad. Honestly, I thought it was his ankle or something and then I realized he said it was his knee, so I was just hoping it wasn't that bad to be honest."

What was that locker room like?

"It was depressing, man. It was one of the saddest locker rooms -- we just won the game -- and it was one of the saddest locker rooms I might have ever been in."

What was the next day like for you?

"Tough, man. We really just met for a couple minutes, walked through a couple things and got out of there because everybody was down still. It was kind of like a ... it was just depressing, man."

Doug Collins:

"I was right in front of our bench and I saw him come down awkwardly and I just knew what he did -- I saw the way his leg buckled -- because I had that injury. And so I knew immediately.

"... I knew he hurt his knee and I was very sad. Obviously, it changed the playoff picture in our favor. They also lost Noah in Game 3, but Derrick Rose is a shining star and a bright light in the NBA and we miss him. He plays the game the way you're supposed to play it every night. He plays to win. He's a hometown kid who loves being in Chicago and representing his city. He's got a great family. And I'm one of these guys, I want to see the best players on the floor and so I hope he's going to be healthy soon and get back out there. Will that affect us? Yeah. But that kid needs to be out there playing basketball. He's special."

Taj Gibson:

"I remember it like it was yesterday. He was in the game, we talked about the game scheme, drew up a play for him to break down the defense and probably get a running hook, running floater -- he went down the lane, got a running floater, and just came down wrong. I was hoping it wasn't even his knee. I thought it was his ankle. He always had bad ankle problems, but he hurt his knee. We got a great win but the look on everybody's face wasn't even happy about the win. We were more like hoping that he's OK. You never want to see a teammate go out like that. But just the reaction when we got the news ... most of the guys just ran in the training room and we went into the training room and you didn't see him but we saw him come out with that disappointment look on his face it was surreal and we knew that it was something serious. That's what I remember the most."

"I just remember his face when he came out of the X-ray room and everybody was just shaking their head. It was like one of those scenes -- you're there but you don't know what's going on, but you know something was bad happening. It was one of those reactions, the whole locker room was just quiet, we heard people moving around but you hardly heard people say anything. That was crazy."

What was it like the next day?

"The next day was mellow. It was like you come in, it was quiet, real mellow and quiet. The only thing you mostly heard was the basketball. Guys just came in there and we got the news about how he was and it was cool because guys understood what they had to do but at the same time we really didn't understand like, 'What's the gameplan now?' How we got to adjust, we got to draw up different plays, we got to do different things like that. But guys were still like, 'Damn.' At the same time they were like, 'What could we have done differently? Maybe the second unit could have played a little harder, we wouldn't have had to worry about putting him back in the game.'"

"It was just a lot of stuff going on but then he was like, 'You got to man up. You got to get ready for the next game.' Things like this happen every day. But it was just tough because you go through a whole year of ups and downs, ups and downs, ups and downs, and get another blow like that to your teammate, you're like, 'Wow,' that was crazy. "


Sixers guard -- and Chicago native -- Evan Turner

"I think as big an icon as D-Rose has been to basketball and in the NBA and in Chicago, you're talking about a kid that's always been admired ... I root for every Chicago kid because you're putting on for the city and you inspire the younger kids coming up, (the injury) is traumatizing to a community. Chicago is on his back so you see him go down definitely is horrible because he's a pro's pro. You like watching him, you like seeing what he does, performing, so that was hard to watch, too."

What do you remember from that moment?

"I just thought he pulled a muscle because he didn't really react. I hear when people tear an ACL they start screaming and stuff. He didn't react or anything so I said he probably just caught a cramp because he's been playing off and on and that was it. I just figured nothing bad had happened, he never really got hurt before and then when it came out he tore his ACL, I was shocked because he didn't have any reaction."

John Paxson

"What I remember was there was excitement about the playoffs starting and us feeling that we had put ourselves in a position to make a run. And then we're sitting there just a short time away from winning Game 1 and knowing that every playoff game, that's the most important game you play, so we were going to have a 1-0 advantage.

"And then watching Derrick go down -- from that moment on I was just kind of numb -- because you knew it was bad when you saw him on the floor. And then the rest of the day was going to the hospital, staying with him and around him, and understanding that it was bad. And it was hard not to think about what that meant for our basketball team, but numb's the word to describe how I felt that day."

Gar Forman

"I remember when he first went down, because he had had several injuries during the year I thought ... I didn't have a good angle so I initially thought he had landed on someone's foot or sprained an ankle, I couldn't see that there was no one around. But then when I saw it on the TV, because we have a TV where we sit, then it was scary seeing him go down with nobody around. And then I just remember leaving the hospital and driving home and it just felt numb. That was about it."

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins said the Chicago Bulls and Derrick Rose have made the right decision by being patient with the star guard's return from knee surgery.

Collins witnessed Rose tear an ACL in his left knee against the 76ers in Game 1 of the opening round of the playoffs on April 28, 2012. He said Tuesday he wasn't surprised Rose hadn't played in a game since.

"No, I never put a time timetable on a player," Collins said. "I had that knee injury. You look at the young kid (Marlon Brown) from Georgia. He's in the NFL combine and all. Everybody rehabs a little different.

"The one thing you have to do is when you come off a serious knee injury, the physical aspect is just one side of it. The other huge side of it is the mental aspect of it. Do you trust yourself playing in a crowd exploding off that leg? Derrick Rose plays in a crowd. He's in the crowd. He's falling. He's coming down on one leg and stuff. He has to be incredibly mentally ready to say, 'I'm ready to do those things again.' "

Rose, who has been cleared medically to play for a while but is working to regain his confidence in his left leg, is considered day to day by the Bulls. He has been traveling with the team since January and went through a shootaround Tuesday, but coach Tom Thibodeau said Rose's status has not changed.

(Read full post)

CHICAGO -- Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins was surprised by the reaction to his postgame comments made after a disappointing Tuesday night loss to the Orlando Magic.

Collins, who went off on a number of topics during a 10-minute press conference, was clearly frustrated by his team's performance.

"If everybody looked inside themselves as much as I did, this world would be a CAT scan. OK?" he told reporters Tuesday. "Believe me, there's not two days go by that I don't go to (president) Rod (Thorn), I don't go to (general manager) Tony (DiLeo), 'What can I do? Can I do anything different? How can I be a better coach? How can I be a better leader? How can I help these guys?'

"Sometimes, you've got to help yourself, you know? Sometimes you've got to help yourself. Youth is a very blaming thing."

Collins laughed about all the attention his remarks got before the Sixers game against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday.

"I guess I was trending," Collins joked. "Viral, trending."

(Read full post)

CHICAGO -- Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins was certain he was going to have to game plan for Derrick Rose on Thursday.

"For Derrick, I thought for sure he was going to play tonight," Collins said. "He got hurt against Philadelphia (in their first-round playoff series in April), come back against Philadelphia, game on TNT, I could just see him running out with the adidas commercial tonight kind of thing."

Instead, Rose continued rehab from knee surgery as usual, dunking four consecutive times during pregame warmups. For over an hour, Rose shot jumpers and made shots from all over the floor. The key for Rose is that he is starting to use both legs to plant and come off the floor.

Rose has been traveling with the Bulls since the first of the year and has been taking full contact in practice for about a month. It's still unclear whether he will return to the court this season.

Collins, who has dealt with plenty of injuries of his own, can understand the notion that Rose still may sit the season.

(Read full post)

It wasn’t pretty, but the Bulls managed to extend their series against the Philadelphia 76ers with a victory on Tuesday. But there are still two wins to be had if the Bulls want to become the ninth team in history to win a series after trailing 3-1.

Will the Bulls make it all the way back and move into the second round? Our 3-on-3 panel debates that and more.

Fact or Fiction: The Bulls will win their series against the 76ers.

Jon Greenberg: Fact. Twenty-four hours ago, I would have disagreed, but like Neo in “The Matrix,” I can see clearly now. The Bulls didn’t really play three bad games, more like four bad quarters. And like Tom Thibodeau said, Tuesday’s ugly win shows Chicago still has more than enough to win with, defensively at least. On this point, I don’t get why Thibodeau went away from Ronnie Brewer in Game 3. Brewer’s length on the perimeter is vital in defending the Sixers’ guards and small forwards, and you saw the result of him getting nearly 30 minutes Tuesday. Brewer played all but 17 seconds in the second quarter, during which Philadelphia scored 10 points on 4-for-23 shooting.

Nick Friedell: Fiction. For as much momentum as the Bulls got in Game 5, it's hard to believe they'll be able to go into a hostile environment and hold Philly to 32 percent shooting again. It's also going to be tough for the Bulls to generate enough offense to topple a Sixers team that knows they must close out the series in Philadelphia. The Bulls players haven't given up all hope, but the absence of Rose down the stretch will prove to be too much.

Scoop Jackson: Fact. The fact that the Bulls finally seemed to overcome the losses of Rose and Noah is big. Now they are back to being themselves, which might not be a good thing for the Sixers. The Bulls knowthey can beat the Sixers and know that they are the better team, but taking two unexpected back-to-back losses of two of the three best/most important players on the team takes time to recover from. The emotional and mental toll alone will cost the greatest of teams at least two games in seven-game series. Now it seems that the Bulls, with the Game 5 win, have not just their legs and their confidence back, but they have their minds back.

---

Fact or Fiction: All of the pressure is now on the 76ers.

Jon Greenberg: Fiction. The Bulls aren’t exactly an upstart team happy to stretch a series to six games. Yes, they’ve been to the abyss and back, but if the Sixers go on a second-half run Thursday, the familiar doubts will creep back in the Bulls’ heads. This is a proud team, and while they love and respect Derrick Rose (not to mention Joakim Noah, who could try to play Thursday on a bum ankle), these guys want to prove they’re not just a supporting cast. Losing a first-round series to a flawed team like Philadelphia would sting, and now that it’s a series again, Chicago’s players have to feel some pressure to take it back to the United Center for a Game 7.

Nick Friedell: Fact. As Kyle Korver said after Game 5, the Sixers were able to play free and easy because they knew they had plenty of chances to close the series out. Now this young team has a chance to close it out on their home floor. The Bulls have already been left for dead by most pundits so they won't be feeling much pressure at all. The Sixers must show they have matured to the point they can end a series when all the chips are down.

Scoop Jackson: Fact. The one thing an eighth-seed can least afford to do is let a one-seed get a win when they have them on the ropes. The Sixers had the Bulls like Canelo had Sugar Shane last Saturday. But now that Thibs has T.D. Jake’d the Bulls back to life the tables have turned. Now the narrative of the series (at least Game 6) is about the Sixers not losing instead of the pressure of the Bulls winning. But let’s be honest, to say all of the pressure is on the Sixers would be misleading and a little bit of a lie. The Bulls, even with injuries to Rose, Noah and now Taj Gibson combined with C.J. Watson not seeming comfortable running the team, still have pressure on them to win at least one more game. Yes, they will forever be allowed the excuse of injures if they do lose this series, but if they don’t push this series to Game 7, the excuse lose credibility.

---

Fact or Fiction: Doug Collins has been playing mind games with the Bulls this series.

Jon Greenberg: Fiction. Collins’ weird announcement of Bulls’ Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson’s heart condition was classic Collins -- too much emotion. Collins has long been known as the basketball version of Dick Vermeil. Michael Jordan supposedly once told complaining All-Star teams that at least their coach doesn’t cry in front of them. Collins has a lifelong bond with the Bulls, and while I’m sure he’d love nothing more than to beat them -- that is the point, after all -- I don’t believe he’s psyching them out with any clever machinations. Unless, of course, he hypnotized Thibodeau into playing Rose late in Game 1, or he telekinetically ripped asunder Rose’s ACL. Then, yes, he’s definitely Dark Phoenix.

Nick Friedell: Fact. The lineup switch to put Evan Turner in as a starter has paid dividends for the veteran coach. He has been able to shuffle around his lineup and really take advantage of Rose's absence. The fact that Collins made the public aware of Paxson's heart issue may have seemed like a nice gesture to most, but there were some within the Bulls' organization who were upset that Collins decided to disclose that publicly. Either way, Collins has pulled the right strings throughout the series and now has a chance to get his eighth-seeded team into the second round.

Scoop Jackson: Fiction: I heard this as a point of conversation on sports talk radio and thought it was the most asinine thing I’d damn-near ever heard. And reading it and having to respond to it now, I feel the same way. Look, I know Doug Collins and most of the people in this business in this city who have been doing this for a significant amount of time know him too. They know that’s not even close to the type of coach or person he is. Anyone who believes that about Collins should be ashamed of thinking that he would use his compassion and empathy for the Bulls’ unfortunate series of events -- specifically his personal feelings of sadness watching Rose go down in front of his team’s bench and wanting to go out there to help him -- as a way to motivate his team or use it as a psychological ploy against the Bulls. All coaches in professional sports play mind games. They have to, it’s part of the path to greatness. But to put out there that Collins is using this time and opposing players’ pain to gain an advantage is kinda pathetic.

Jon Greenberg is a columnist for ESPNChicago.com, Nick Friedell covers the Bulls for ESPNChicago.com and Scoop Jackson is a columnist for ESPN.com.

CHICAGO -- Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins said it is important for his team to focus on closing out the Chicago Bulls in their first-round series on Tuesday.

The No. 8-seed 76ers, who haven’t won a playoff series since 2003, lead the top-seeded Bulls 3-1 heading into Tuesday’s Game 5.

“You can’t be in one of those human nature games where you get into a tight game and you get down six or eight or whatever, and your mind starts playing tricks on you,” Collins said after his team’s shootaround on Tuesday morning. “ ‘Well, we’ve always got Game 6. We’ve always got Game 7.’ You can’t approach it with that idea that you’ve got three games to win one. That would be very dangerous.”

76ers guard Evan Turner said he is approaching Game 5 as a must-win situation.

“Every game is must-win because you want to win the next game and take advantage of it,” said Turner, who has averaged 14 points and 6.3 rebounds in the series. “You don’t worry about Game 6 or 7. You worry about Game 5.”

(Read full post)

PHILADELPHIA -- If the Philadelphia 76ers can manage to win one of the final three games of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Chicago Bulls, they’ll advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in nine years.

It’s not totally uncharted territory, but it has been fairly rare in recent years.

The underdog eighth-seeded Sixers took a commanding 3-1 series lead over the No. 1-seeded Bulls following an 89-82 victory in Game 4 Sunday afternoon at the sold out Wells Fargo Center.

Philadelphia is well aware that a series victory would come against a depleted Bulls team playing without Derrick Rose (ACL) and Joakim Noah, who missed Game 4 with a sprained left ankle.

For a franchise that hasn’t advanced to the second round since the 2002-03 season, any series win is satisfying.

But there’s still one huge game remaining. They’d surely like to get that elusive win Tuesday night at the United Center.

(Read full post)

Sixers coach Doug Collins discusses Derrick Rose's season-ending injury.

CHICAGO -- The first person on the court the moment Derrick Rose crashed to the floor was Doug Collins, waving frantically for the Chicago Bulls doctors and trainers to come quick to Rose's rescue.

Before anybody else knew exactly what was wrong with Rose, Collins knew. Yes, Collins was the coach of the Bulls' playoff opponent but in those particular moments at the end of Saturday's Game 1, with Rose laying in agony on the court, Collins could feel and understand Rose's pain more than anybody in the building, Rose's teammates and coaches included.

Once upon a time Doug Collins was Derrick Rose, a schoolboy star from the state of Illinois who'd become the first overall pick in the NBA draft, a point guard who as a very young man would lead his team deep into the playoffs. And now, in a moment he wouldn't wish on anybody, Collins and Rose would share something else: a ripped up left knee.

Read the entire story.

CHICAGO -- Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins continued Tuesday to defend Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau's decision to have Derrick Rose on the floor with 1:22 remaining in Game 1.

Rose tore his left ACL with the Bulls leading by 12.

Collins backed Thibodeau's decision by recalling a game in 2004 when Tracy McGrady scored 13 points in 35 seconds to lead the Houston Rockets to a one-point win over the San Antonio Spurs. Thibodeau was an assistant on the Rockets' staff.

"As a coach, you never forget those things," Collins said. "Sometimes when you're gauging on who should be out in the game and who shouldn't, coaches knows what they need to know. And that's why with Thibs, I think it would be very, very unfair to throw any criticism his way over Derrick Rose being hurt. Had he got hurt the first minute of the game, nothing would be said.

"We have long memories as coaches. You remember those games. I remember watching it. I think Thibs was on that staff with Jeff Van Gundy. When you have games like that, you never forget them."

Collins said he has often kept his own players on the floor late into games even with a large lead.

"I error on the side sometimes of keeping guys in the game too long because I know if you ever take a player out of the game with a big lead you can't bring him back because they shut it down once they go out," Collins said. "It's just human nature for a pro athlete. That's what they do."

Collins also said he wasn't surprised Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was named the NBA coach of the year. Collins had said last week Thibodeau was his front-runner for the award.

"You could vote for four or five guys," Collins said. "You could vote for Pop. I'd vote for Thibs. I thought Alvin Gentry did a great job in Phoenix. There's a lot of guys who do a good job. They do a damn good job. I have so much respect for these guys in this league. Like I said the other day, Saturday, Thibs was coach of the year last year and very likely could have been this year."

CHICAGO -- Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins believes his team will have to overcome an emotional start by the Derrick Rose-less Chicago Bulls in Tuesday’s Game 2 if they are to even their Eastern Conference quarterfinals playoffs series.

Tuesday will mark the first playoff game the Bulls will be without Rose, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear in his left knee in Game 1. The Bulls won the game 103-91 and own a 1-0 lead in the series.

“I think it’s going to be a very emotional night,” Collins said following Tuesday’s shootaround. “Is (Rose) going to be here tonight? Is he going to talk to the media for the first time? Is he going to be out here on the bench with his teammates?

“To me, there’s going to be a lot of emotion that’s going into it. That’s why I told our guys we have to be poised to start this game. There’s going to be a flurry of activity, and you got to ride through that.”

Collins believes the rest of the game will get easier if the 76ers can hang with the Bulls through the first five minutes.

(Read full post)

CHICAGO -- If Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins could win any quarter against the Chicago Bulls in their Eastern Conference quarterfinals playoff series, he would prefer it to be the first one.

"They're 23-0 when they score 100 points, and they're 39-3 when they win the first quarter," Collins said after Monday's practice. "So they're a quick-starting team, and when they score, their defense is really good."

Collins' fear before Game 1 on Saturday was the Bulls jumping on his team, and that's exactly what occurred. The Bulls opened the game on 10-3 run, forcing Collins to cause a timeout, and the 76ers trailed 28-24 after one quarter. The Bulls allowed the 76ers to tie the game in the second quarter, but the 76ers never took the lead and lost 103-91.

(Read full post)

CHICAGO -- Doug Collins was long gone by the time the Chicago Bulls started winning championships in the 1990s, but chairman Jerry Reinsdorf made sure his former coach shared in the team's success.

"They have embraced me," Collins said Saturday before his Philadelphia 76ers faced the Bulls in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. "I don't have any championship rings. Jerry has given me six championship watches with great notes that I've kept very proudly."

Collins was given his first shot at NBA coaching by the Bulls in 1986, and he guided the Bulls -- with the help of Michael Jordan -- to three consecutive playoff appearances. But he was fired after they were eliminated in the Eastern Conference finals in 1989. He was replaced by Phil Jackson, who coached the Bulls to six NBA titles.

"Absolutely, the Bulls give me a special feeling," said Collins, whose two children graduated from Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Ill. "It was my first chance. It's interesting -- Jerry Reinsdorf and I have become the best of friends. We spoke about a month ago for about an on the phone. He's reached out to me and maybe we'll get a chance to go out to dinner while we're here. He's been very a special person.

"(Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations) John Paxson has been like a son to me. I have very strong feelings for him. Basically, everyone who works for this organization are still here. Jerry through his years has shown loyalty to the people. This is a special organization."

In fact, before hiring Vinny Del Negro in 2008, the Bulls considered bringing Collins back, but Reinsdorf said he felt too strongly about Collins and never wanted to be put in a position to fire him again.

Collins said Chicagoans make him feel at home when he returns.

"When I walk down the street, the bus drivers honk and wave, and the fans say how much they appreciated my time here," Collins said. "I love this city."

Collins didn't expect to receive the same embrace from Bulls' fans come game time on

"It's going to be interesting to see," Collins said. "I'm sure they're not going to be lovely to me today."

CHICAGO -- Philadelphia coach Doug Collins said Friday he wasn't concerned with what 76ers guard Evan Turner recently said about the Chicago Bulls being a better match up than the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs.

Read the entire story.

PHILADELPHIA -- Doug Collins sees what Tom Thibodeau has built over the past year and a half and he likes it. The veteran Philadelphia 76ers coach loves the way his former team plays and heaped praise on Thibodeau and his Chicago Bulls players after Sunday morning's shootaround.

"This is a very proud team," Collins said. "They defend very, very well. Tommy Thibodeau's done a wonderful job with that team. Their defense is terrific. They rebound the ball. They shoot the three well. They have all the elements of a championship team."

As usual, Collins had plenty of other interesting things to say regarding Sunday night's matchup and the Bulls:

On the rematch with the Bulls: "They've got a team that has a chance to win it all. So this is a game, from our standpoint, that we know we have to do a lot of things right to win. The Bulls are going to be ready. We've had a couple good games against them. So I'm sure they're going to be ready. Plus, also too, they're playing for that homecourt advantage. Them and Miami right now, I'm sure are watching each other. And I'm sure the Bulls would like to get the best record. They're a great road team; I think they're 16-6 on the road. They're going to have a really good home finish, in terms of games at home. So I'm sure those two teams have an eye on one another."

(Read full post)