Derrick Rose Won't Play This Year Unless He Passes A Very Specific Test

According to Isaacson, Rose won't return to the Bulls until he is able to dunk off of his left foot. It's all mental:

"A source said while he has been practicing and scrimmaging hard, he told the Bulls that until he feels 'in his mind' he can confidently dunk off his left foot in a game situation, he is not 100 percent mentally ready to return to competition."

It seems like an arbitrary obstacle. Being able to dunk shouldn't be all that different from being able to, say, out-jump an opponent for a rebound.

The fact that Rose and the Bulls have made this the new requirement for returning is the latest signal that he might not come back at all this year.

A few weeks ago he said he wouldn't play unless he was 110%. Even though the Bulls have over-performed, they'd still be underdogs against the Heat, and they may not want to risk Rose's future with a playoff run that'll probably be futile anyway.

The Bulls are raising the bar for what Rose has to do to play this year, and he's running out of time.