Both Rose and Toews absences are missed
Comments (...)There are numerous Chicagoland sportwriters who have turned the parallels between the Bulls' Derrick Rose and the Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews into cute, gimmicky and easy columns.
They debate the predictable items — which superstar is the better player, the better leader, the more popular icon and most irreplaceable. We may be about to get a more definitive answer to that last subject than we would really like to have.
Prior to Monday night's game against the Nets, Rose had missed four straight games with a toe injury. Those who thought that no Rose would mean doom and disaster for the Bulls — and I was one of those people — have been proven wrong. They went 3-1 in the four games they played without him last week, with an average margin of victory of 22 points.
Now, those victories came against Phoenix, Cleveland and Charlotte. The Suns are ruining the end of Steve Nash's brilliant career by fielding their worst team in years. The Cavaliers have been, surprisingly, somewhat competitive so far but haven't climbed out of the post-LeBron rubble just yet. The Bobcats would be the worst team in the NBA if it weren't for Washington. In other words, the Bulls didn't exactly plow through a murderer's row of opponents.
Still, last week was some of the best evidence yet that the Bulls aren't entirely reliant on Rose for all of their success. It's not cause to believe they're a title contender without him — I can't imagine them winning a playoff series if he were sidelined — but in the crazy 66-game schedule the NBA is squeezing into a few months, it's good to know they can stay afloat when Rose-less.
The Blackhawks haven't had to go without Toews for any kind of an extended stretch yet in 2011-12, but that might be about to change. Might. Toews was slashed during Friday's win over Florida. He returned to that game and played nearly 10 minutes Saturday at Nashville before exiting with what officially is an upper-body injury.
Toews didn't practice Monday, and his status for both Tuesday's home tilt with the Predators and for the All-Star festivities later in the week are suddenly very much in jeopardy. Coach Joel Quenneville has termed the injury "day-to-day" ... which could mean Toews will be back by Tuesday, and it could mean he'll miss a month.
How much will the Hawks suffer in his absence? Considering everything he does for them, they could really be in trouble. Beyond his 27 goals and 50 points, Toews contributes in so many areas — he's their top faceoff man and one of their top penalty killers, for starters — that it could cause a ripple effect.
Normally I'd say that, with the exception of an elite goaltender, there is no way a hockey player being out could hurt his team as much as a comparable basketball player being out. Indeed, while the Hawks might be able to get by without Toews for a few weeks, I think things would quickly turn on the Bulls if Rose remains out and their schedule gets tougher.
After watching the Bulls survive and even thrive with no Rose last week, I think it's fairly close. Toews might be just one of 12 forwards and 18 skaters the Hawks trot on the ice on a given night, but he's certainly the most important one, much as Rose is certainly the most important part of the Bulls rotation.
I'll take Rose importance to the Bulls' over Toews' importance to the Blackhawks by a hair ... but it's safe to say that both players are darn close to irreplaceable.
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