The old Derrick Rose is back. Allegedly.
The good news is that the information is coming straight from his head coach, Tom Thibodeau, instead of “unnamed sources” or random speculation.
Here’s what Thibs has to say about his guy:
“I worked him out about a week ago. It was great.
“Watching the way he’s moving now, there’s a confidence. [Reporters] may not have been able to see the total work he was putting in. But he was putting in an enormous amount of work each and every day. He just never got to the explosiveness he was comfortable with. I think he’s there now. He feels great, and that’s the most important thing.”
That is from a conversation that Thibodeau had with ESPN Chicago. An important aspect of the interview to note is that Thibs addressed those rumors and reports that Rose was consistently dominating practices and therefore should have been on the floor in the playoffs:
“He was practicing and he was good sometimes, but he also wasn’t able to make the kinds of plays he likes to make. No one is more explosive and can change direction like him. He had to be capable of doing that.
“That’s what makes him so unique, how quick and explosive he is. He can jump sideways to avoid contact. He’s always hopping around. That’s a lot on your knee. You have to be comfortable doing that. He takes off and he doesn’t take long to go from securing the ball to exploding and blowing by somebody.”
“He wasn’t able to make the kinds of plays he likes to make.” If Thibodeau or someone else had just come out and said that earlier, we could have avoided the overall mess that was the world pressuring a guy to come back before he was physically and mentally ready to play at his desired level.
Will Derrick Rose be the Rose of old when we see him next season?
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