Derrick Rose: Is Chicago Bulls’ PG Returning To Form?
Derrick Rose missed a number of games early on due to ankle and hamstring injuries. But after the bumpy start to the season, Rose has began playing some of his best basketball so far. The question is can Rose continue to play at a high level for the duration of the season?
Although the Chicago Bulls added some nice pieces to the roster during the offseason — Pau Gasol, Doug McDermott, Aaron Brooks and Nikola Mirotic, some of the biggest questions surrounding the Bulls pertained to the health of Derrick Rose.
Could he last an entire season after playing just 10 games over the past two years? Would he be able to work his way back to the level that made him one of the most dangerous players at his position?
Initially, it seemed like Rose’s season would be a turbulent one to say the least. After tallying a combined 32 points against the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers to start the 2014-15 campaign, Rose was sidelined with injuries that forced him to miss eight of the 15 games the team played in November.
Not only was Rose missing a lot of games early on, but his public image took another hit when he commented on his approach to playing games this season. Here is what Rose told the Chicago Sun-Times following a 102-91 win over the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 10:
"“I’m good, man. I feel I’ve been managing myself pretty good. I know a lot of people get mad when they see me sit out. But I think a lot of people don’t understand that when I sit out, it’s not because of this year. I’m thinking about long term. I’m thinking about after I’m done with basketball, having graduations to go to, having meetings to go to. I don’t want to be in my meetings all sore or be at my son’s graduation all sore just because of something I did in the past. Just learning and being smart.”"
What got lost in the conversation was the fact that Rose scored 24 points and handed out seven assists in that game against the Pistons, which was was one of his best performances at that point of the season. And although Rose’s ability to start and finish games came into question, he finished the month of November with averages of 16.0 points, 4.6 assists and 2.9 rebounds per contest.
Rose was even better in December from both a health and production standpoint. He played in 13 of the 15 games and his averages included 18.3 points, 5.1 assists and 3.0 rebounds. And his best performance of the month came against the Portland Trail Blazers.
As illustrated in the above video, Rose played like a man who was on a mission. He was taking the ball to the basket, hitting floaters and the midrange jump shot. In other words, Rose played at a level similar to where he was prior to the knee injuries.
And although Damian Lillard won the individual scoring battle with 35 points, the Bulls won the game 115-106, as Rose led the way with 31 points, five assists and three bounds. In addition to that, Rose shot an efficient 14-for-24 from the floor, and this outing marked the second time this season that Rose compiled 20 points in consecutive games.
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Now the month of January has not been kind to the Bulls. In fact, it is a month they would rather forget about. Not only have they continued to lose home games to sub .500 teams, they also endured a stretch in which they dropped seven games in 11 outings, which in turn has led to speculation about Tom Thibodeau being on the hot seat. And while the Bulls have struggled overall, as their 8-8 record suggests, Rose is starting to slowly rediscover his form.
One fact that supports this assertion is that Rose is averaging 20.4 points per contest in January — his highest scoring average of any month this season. And if we take a closer look at his play over a recent stretch of games, the numbers are even better. Over the last 10 outings, Rose is averaging 22.8 points, 5.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds, while shooting a respectable 44 percent from the field.
Along with that, Rose has converted 29 of his last 71 attempts from three-point range, which equates to a 40.8 percent. Not too shabby for a player who has a career conversion rate of 31 percent from beyond the arc.
While the numbers and percentages are nice, the real reason why I say that Rose is getting better is because of his confidence. Case in point, in the 113-111 overtime win against the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 27, Rose did not shoot the ball particularly well, connecting on just 13 of his 33 attempts (39 percent). Not only that, he also turned the ball over a whopping 11 times. Taking those stats into consideration, it would be reasonable to say that he was a liability on the floor at times.
However, when the game was on the line, Rose wanted the ball in his hands. And what was the result? Well, Rose hit a step-back jumper over Klay Thompson, helping the Bulls to hand the Warriors just their second defeat this season at Oracle Arena.
Following his performance, Rose had this to say about the final sequence, as reported by ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell:
"“A player like myself, I want them moments. I want that shot. My teammates gave me the ball to take the shot and it looks good on the resume. I’m not running away from them shots, I’m not turning them down. If anything, my teammates are going to give me the ball to take the shot, so that’s a good feeling.”"
Needless to say, it takes a ton of confidence for a player to take that shot when he’s missed 20 of his 32 attempts at that point. But despite the missed shots and the high number of turnovers, Rose was confident he could lead his team to victory, and that is exactly what he did.
Yes, it may be too early to say that Rose has turned the corner for good being that there are a lot of games left to play to this season. However, based on the way that he has progressed, it is safe to say that his recent play will prove to be a sign of what is to come rather than an aberration.