Derrick Rose: Confidence Has Gone Through The Roof
By Evan Massey
Derrick Rose’s confidence has gone through the roof following the Chicago Bulls’ comeback win over the Boston Celtics.
The Chicago Bulls were able to pull off a big comeback win over the Boston Celtics yesterday, and improved to 10-6 on the season despite all of the injury issues that they have dealt with. Derrick Rose has been the most notable player that has missed a chunk of games already, but his confidence in his body is through the roof following the Bulls’ big win yesterday.
Take a look at the numbers that Rose has put up through eight games this year:
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/29/2014.
Obviously they aren’t quite as good as they used to be a few years back before all of the injuries began hitting him, but they aren’t too bad either. Considering the fact that he hasn’t played consistently all year long and has been banged up a bit with ankle and hamstring injuries, he has done well when he has been on the court and has helped his team win games.
Rose talked about his confidence being up after the win, and hopefully this mindset continues moving forward this year.
"“My confidence is through the roof, man. I don’t need no more confidence, I just need to play. I know how good I am and I know how good I’m going to be. It’s just that I just need to be out there playing.”"
That is exactly the sentiment that the Chicago media has had, and it seems to be good news that Rose is finally realizing that being on the court is the only way he can improve. Head coach Tom Thibodeau also talked about Rose and the future ahead of him and the team.
"“The thing for Derrick is he’s got to keep building. Honestly, I looked at the 10 minutes [in Denver] as a positive. Back-to-back [games], he’s out there. I looked at the last two days, practicing and practicing hard, so he plays better. That’s how he’s going to shake the rust off. So I just want him to keep building. That’s what I want him to do. He’s got to be out there in order to do that.”"
"“He was playing with a high intensity level. And when he plays like that, it’s huge for our team. … Every time he’s out there, it’s important.”"
It’s very obvious that the Bulls need Rose on the court if they want to be a contender in the Eastern Conference. Rose is beginning to realize that if he wants to be the basketball player that he can be, he can’t afford to keep taking days off due to low levels of pain. Pushing through that pain is what will make him the superstar player that Chicago needs him to be.
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At just 26 years of age, he is in the prime of his career and there aren’t many players that can slow him down when he plays his game. If he continues to keep this mindset and puts everything he has out on the court, the Bulls are going to be in a good position moving forward.
That being said, Rose will have to prove that he can stay on the court before fans believe him. His injury issues have been very well documented and he has sat out of games quite often when many didn’t think it was necessary. Rose will need to show that he is serious about being on the court for his team, and that he can improve and get back to the superstar level that he used to play at.
Simply hearing these types of comments from Rose is a good sign for the Bulls. It was obvious that he was playing the aggressive play style that has made him so dangerous, and he needs to continue playing that way. Leaving everything out on the court is what the Bulls need from him, and it sounds as if Rose is excited and will continue playing that way.
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