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Similar to SAS last year, lost a key player for the finals.

Is the same going to be said of Chicago?

I doubt it.
I think they will be given alot of leniency due to the fact Rose is injured.
Still think they are good enough to get by Philly in a tight series can't see them getting much further though.

And to be fair Manu did play in our series, Rose is goooone. Not quite the same situation.

No way, Chicago losing won't be considered choking. Right now the biggest thing is whether Rose can come back atleast as athletic/quick as he was before the injury. I kept on reading how an ACL Tear will likely rob players of their athleticism and quickness. IMO, players can adjust their game over time if they were slowly losing athleticism. But when guys who depend on that and suddenly lost it, you don't get that time to adjust your game. If Derrick Rose comes back as a player with average speed and average athleticism, how good is he actually? And I really don't buy the stuff where he's young enough to regain everything back. I know guys who hurt their knee when their under 20 years old and never regain their full athleticism. You're really never what you were before after something like that.

Not at all. Rose is the reigning MVP. Without him, they're still great defensively but they have basically nothing on offense.

I did think they'd beat Philly without Rose and it looks like that won't be the case.

But definitely not a chokejob, not at all.

without rose, they stilll did well in those RS games he missed....

labeling the choke is not correct

And now they also lost Noah. Sad times to be a Bulls fan.

I also had a torn ACL about ten years ago, and while I'm nothing like a professional athlete who can work out 24/24 my doctor told me that I probably would only come back like 80 % of my former strength.

It's sad for Bulls fans obviously, but as a basketball fan in general I want to see competitive balance come playoff time. The Heat were more than likely going to the finals as it was, but now that path looks a lot clearer thanks to the injuries.