Derrick Rose - The Final Return, Upcoming Season and The Speculations
Title long overdue
Maybe it is their time. City of Chicago has waited enough for it. They have played the patience game for some time now. The city is restless, the fans are getting crazy by every passing season. Front office has done the best it could this offseason in the drafts and via the free agency. All they need is the final piece of the puzzle to complete the perfect picture, the successful return of their Superstar.
Is it not too big a burden for the shoulders of a player who just played a handful of 45 some NBA games in last 3 years? Does it not seem very unfair to expect so much out of a player who has injured both his knees in the past couple of years? Is it not brutal to ask of a player whose statistics were somewhere between fair and poor in the international competitions where Americans are considered to be the Gods on the court?
Time for comeback
Most basketball pundits and analysts believe Rose will never be his old self. While many argue differently, there will always be the question of health status and minutes limit on the star point guard this season. Critics will always be on the tail of the front office this year. A sword will be held over the head of Coach Tom, while he distributes the playing minutes. Every minor soreness to the player will shake the fan kingdom. Even though the player has said some hundred times now that the issue of the health of his knees is in the past, those knees will still be under the X-ray lenses all the time. Every lay-up, every leap, every fall and every physical contact will make the fans skip a heart beat. This roller coaster is going to roll for the entire 2014 – 2015 season.
After the second injury last year the front office and Rose himself, unlike previous year, shut off all the media and reports thus eliminating any distraction whatsoever and let the player focus on the recovery. Thus Derrick’s appearance in the FIBA World Cup became a sight for the sore eye. Everyone had high expectations from the former MVP. The summer of 2014 was what I would like to call, ignition period for Derrick Rose. For someone who did not play against any high-level competition for almost two years, cracking the USA national roster against top notch competition like John Wall and Damion Lillard seems to be a win. Successfully playing three games in three nights without any health issues is a win-win. So yeah, in a way his engine did ignite this summer.
Not in great form
The statistics of his FIBA tournament appearance were way below anywhere, anyone expected them to be. He also lost his starting position to Irving and struggled to get it back. But while many believe that the D-Rose starrer FIBA was a flop feature movie, I find it as successful as it could ever be. There was a lot of rust that needed to be scratched off, a lot of game rhythm to catch, a lot of doubters to be eased and he did that just fine. And then there was the glimpse of all the highlight materials, the double handed dunk, acrobatic layups, high intensity defences, quick and agile movements all across the floor. The bounce and the elite speed, two weapons of Rose that intimidates everyone on and off the court were still present and he did not hesitate to use them at will. So no doubt the summer of 2014 was very productive for Derrick. As the only player on the team who remained inactive for so many years it was more like a coming out party for D-Rose while he was filling a distribution role coming off the bench than to dominate the game with his scoring. It was more about getting back to the game shape than to force himself to be the best player out on the court.
Now as far as upcoming season with the Bulls is concerned, I believe it is also going to be a positive one. We all should understand that he is far away from the MVP level he achieved in the 2011 season, may not be even close to his All Star level right now, but with addition of Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic and Dough Mcdermott on the roster, some of the scoring burden will be lifted away from Derrick's shoulder and he will have the time to ease back to his old self. Let him play and get back into the rhythm. Rome was not built in a day fellas.
Class is permanent
The main point to consider in this whole scenario is that the Bulls do not need the superstar Derrick Rose back in the coming November. They do not need the Superstar Rose back during the All Star week. They need their Superstar by the end of March. That is a plenty of time for point guard Derrick Rose to transit into the Superstar D-Rose. And the shooting accuracy will come, his game will be less rusty and we may even get to hear the MVP chants in the NBA finals.
The fans are eager once again to hear the announcement during the team entry:”And now from Chicago...”