Derrick Rose: Former Chicago Bulls' guard's ACL injury a fluke or an injury waiting to happen?

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· Former Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose was the youngest NBA MVP in the history.

· Former MVP landed awkwardly in the 2012 playoffs, resulting in a torn ACL.

· Build-up of stress on the knee, due to his form when landing.

Former Chicago Bulls’ guard Derrick Rose shot to superstardom during the 2010-11 season, averaging 25 points, 7.7 assists and one steal per game.

The Chicago Bulls’ guard was the key to unlocking the side’s true potential as they stormed to a 62-win campaign.

Derrick Rose was rewarded for his efforts by grasping the MVP trophy, making him the youngest player to win the award.

A year later, during the 2012 playoffs, the Chicago faithful fell witness to Rose landing awkwardly while contesting the ball, leaving him with a devastating ACL injury. The injury has put one of the biggest what if questions in the basketball world over Derrick Rose.

After demonstrating a freakishly astounding athletic ability, Derrick Rose produced highlight reel plays, with flashy dunks and acrobatic layups, giving his opponent a near impossible job on defence. Which raises questions; was Derrick Rose’s injury just a time bomb ready to explode? Could Rose have taken more care of his body to prevent the injury from happening in the first place?

The injury Derrick Rose suffered was not purely based on being unlucky. Often, after finishing at the basket, Rose lands on a single leg, his leg was normally straight when landing and his heel would hit the ground first, creating strain on the knee.

Looking closer at the former MVP’s form, it’s clear that he attempts to out jump his opponents rather try to pull off a “crafty” manoeuvre to score. Throughout his first three years in the NBA he would move in mid-air forcing himself into awkward landing positions.

In the NBA it is important for a smaller player, more specifically a point guard to focus on using their body and smaller size to score at the basket, while limiting their vertical leap.

The larger vertical leap resulted in Rose having a greater distance to fall, the sharp movement from a straight leg to having his knee bend over his feet was the result in a torn ACL.

With the addition of Derrick Rose doing this on a nightly basis, the stress level on his ACL built up. The injury was no fluke and he wasn’t that unlucky, it was an injury waiting to happen, the problem is no one knew when it would go off.

What breaks Bulls fan’s hearts the most is, this whole entire injury and struggle to keep his spot as one of the best in the world could’ve been avoided. All Rose needs to do is take a fall or shuffle his feet when he finds himself in an awkward landing position.

Derrick Rose is the prime example for any athlete, that form when landing is crucial in keeping a healthy lower half of the body.