Derrick Rose is back, but where is Jimmy Butler?

Chicago Bulls fans have waited for the return of Derrick Rose for the past several years. He is now back, but his running mate, Jimmy Butler, is now down. This is one of the reasons why the team is struggling this season.

Derrick Rose had a rough three seasons. We all know that. He tore his ACL and his meniscus (twice). Chicago Bulls fans have patiently been waiting for his return. Well, not all of them have been patient, as some called for the Bulls to get rid of him.

It seemed that every time Rose got into a groove, he would get injured and miss a big chunk of the season. He was snake-bitten.

At the start of this season, we thought it was happening again. After finishing the regular season strong and playing well in the playoffs last season, Rose was ready to start the 2015 season at his healthiest.

Then he got poked in the eye and broke his orbital bone.

The Bulls should have put Rose down at the beginning of the season, since the injury affected his depth perception, but after missing all those games in the previous three seasons, there was no way they were going to do that.

Head coach Fred Hoiberg admitted that Rose probably should have taken more time to come back. “Did he come back too soon? Looking back on it, we could’ve got him in better rhythm and better shape to start the year,” Hoiberg said. “But he wanted to be out there with his teammates for the first game.”

Now, Derrick Rose is playing his best ball since his MVP season of 2010. Since the All Star break, he is averaging 108 points per 100 possessions, his best since that MVP season, when he scored 115 points per 100 possessions.

Derrick Rose has driven hard to the basket without fear of getting hurt, has hit jump shots with better efficiency, and has taken three-pointers under control.

In fact, Rose is shooting three’s at a higher percentage than noted sharpshooter Doug McDermott (45.5 percent to 43.4 percent).

All that being said, Derrick Rose’s comeback is not resulting in Chicago Bulls wins. They are ninth in the Eastern Conference, one-and-a-half games behind the Detroit Pistons for the final playoff spot.

There are many reasons why the Bulls have struggled this season –bad defense, inconsistent offense, soft roster — but a big reason is that the supposed new face of the team, Jimmy Butler, is the one who has disappeared.

After having a breakout season in 2014, where he became an All Star, Butler has been a no-show for the better part of this season. Being a Tom Thibodeau guy, he famously went off on Hoiberg and called his coaching style soft, but that term could be used to describe his play in 2015.

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Since the All Star break, Butler is shooting 39.0 percent from the field, including 16.7 percent from beyond the arc. Also, Rose has played more games than Butler (59 games to 56).

Sure, some can point out to the knee trouble he had, but he was declared healthy by independent doctors, so that cannot be used as an excuse. I find it funny that Rose was bashed for the mystery surrounding his injuries, yet with Butler, on the one hand they say the knee is okay, then on the other they put word out that he may need knee surgery.

It will interesting to see how the Chicago Bulls retool the roster to have the type of players Hoiberg needs in his offensive system. It is a system that Derrick Rose could thrive in. He could again be considered among the best point guards in the NBA, something not many thought could happen.

Butler tried to become the leader of the team by being the most vocal and the most direct. Part of being a leader, however, is being able to back up his words with his play.

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Derrick Rose is letting his play do the talking for him.

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