It seems like only yesterday when the NBA and its fans saw a 22-year-old Derrick Rose lift the Most Valuable Player trophy. Rose became the youngest player to ever win the award.
It seems like such a distant memory when you consider what Rose is now: two years removed from a torn ACL and a year removed from a torn meniscus. The Chicago Bulls superstar point guard is looking to bounce all the way back from all of that during the FIBA World Cup this summer in Spain.
Rose has a multitude of reasons why to make this run at a FIBA Championship — despite some rumblings that he should simply sit it out and heal. That concept doesn’t see the light of day in my world, personally. If Derrick Rose feels he’s ready to go and wants to get some action in, I say go for it.
Derrick Rose tore the ACL in his left knee in Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers. He had successful surgery in May of 2012 and sat out the entire 2012-2013 season despite the franchise playing a huge game of tug of war with its fanbase.
The Bulls (understandably) wanted to give Rose all the time in the world to heal since they invested $95 million in the kid, but the fanbase wanted him on the court because Derrick Rose makes the Bulls an instant title contender.
The year after, his complete recovery was bittersweet after Rose went down again after just ten games. Rose injured himself in a game against the Portland Trailblazers, and an MRI revealed a torn meniscus in his right knee.
The Bulls, its fans, and Derrick Rose just haven’t been able to catch a break the last few seasons. They have an amazing roster and the infrastructure in place to win multiple championships, but their superstar just can’t stay on the floor.
It’s unfortunate because there was so much hope and promise for a kid with a historic franchise like the Chicago Bulls. After the 62 win 2010-2011 season, the Bulls with Derrick Rose proved to be a legitimate contender for years to come and threaten the reign of “King James” year after year while he was in Miami.
Amazingly enough, here we are three years later, and the Bulls are still in an incredible spot. With the addition of Pau Gasol, the Bulls can field a front court of Gasol and All-Star center Joakim Noah who has been gleaming in the Chicago spotlight as the heart and soul of the team.
The rest of the roster is stacked. Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson continue to get better. Kirk Hinrich is as reliable a backup point guard as you’ll find in the NBA, and rookie Doug McDermott is only the fifth leading scorer in NCAA basketball history. If Derrick Rose comes back and can be just 85-90% of what he was in the 2010-2011 season, the Bulls win the East going away — barring a Kevin Love trade to Cleveland (and even then, I’ll take the Bulls in seven).
This is even more incentive for Derrick Rose to play in this summer’s FIBA World Cup. Rose can mentally strengthen himself by playing 10-15 minutes (as opposed to starting right out the gate with 20-25). Ask any sports psychologist, and they’ll tell you how important mental confidence is after an injury.
You have to take that first hit. You have to take that first hard fall. You have to know in your head that everything is alright and working fine or it will plague you all season.
Derrick Rose is the one player in this competition that NEEDS that. Part of the reason why Rose may have struggled when coming back after sitting out a year is just rust. Training camps and team scrimmages can only do so much. There is enough depth on the Team USA roster at point guard between Rose, Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, and Damian Lillard that Rose doesn’t have to go all out. He can do his thing when he’s on the court. He can do Derrick Rose things like this.
In an interview yesterday, Rose said he is somewhat altering his approach:
“I’m just trying to keep people off my body. Using a lot of floaters, using a lot of pull-ups, so I won’t get touched as much. [Also], catch-and-shoot. I’ve been doing a lot of catch-and-shoot, running off floppy. … I think this year will be the most in my career where I’ll play catching the ball with a live dribble.”
Getting the feel for a bit of a more well rounded game should carry into the NBA regular season, and Rose may not start off so slow like he did last October.
In that same interview, Rose told reporters that last year he was trying to “prove everyone wrong” and that he was “forcing the game”. This time around he wants to “let the game come to him”. That’s the sound of a man with a plan to come back better and stronger than ever.
That’s good news for Chicago Bulls fans who have been waiting with baited breath for their star to return and to bring a Larry O’Brien trophy back to the Windy City for the first time since 1998.
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