Good news for the Chicago Bulls: A marginalized Derrick Rose is still pretty damn good. After scoring 18 points and dishing five assists during his first game back from last week’s hamstring strain in a tough win against the Utah Jazz, Tom Thibodeau said that Rose is still “not real comfortable.”
Both player and coach also stressed the need for Rose to stay in the lineup for an extended period this time around. Last night’s game was only the third time this season that the frequently injured Bulls played with their normal starting five. And even so, Chicago still didn’t have its full complement of impact players available – leading Sixth Man of the Year candidate Taj Gibson was inactive with a sprained ankle.
Here’s Thibodeau and Rose via ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell:
Asked whether Rose looked fatigued in the second half of Monday’s game, something the 26-year-old discussed before Monday’s shootaround in regard to his muscle recovery after missing more than a week, Thibodeau chafed.
“Oh I don’t know. Jesus. He’s got to get out there and play,” Thibodeau said. “I thought he did a lot of good things. You could see he’s not real comfortable with the ball yet, but that will come. When Derrick strings some games together, he’s going to take off. He’s got to go. That’s the bottom line. He’s got to go…”
“It’s been time,” Rose said. “To me, it’s been time. Every injury is a setback a little bit, but as far as emotions and everything, how hard I worked, it’s been consistent with how I’m feeling, being positive. And it’s been a minute since I’ve played. This is the first one and now it’s behind me and now we’re on to Denver.”
Rose also admitted that he made a concerted effort to let the game come to him. He bemoaned the four turnovers he committed in just 25 minutes of play, too.
Still, his overall performance could be considered nothing but encouraging. Rose made five of 10 field goal attempts – including three hits in five tries from beyond the arc – and got to the free throw line eight times despite his minutes restriction.
There was this crucial crunch-time and-1, too:
Now that is the Derrick Rose we love to see.
It will certainly take time for Rose to readjust to the speed and nuance of the game. For now, though, the Bulls should take solace in the fact that he was so effective despite a noticeable lack of comfort. If Rose can maintain this level of play while his feel and wind come around, it will certainly spell good things about his performance for the rest of the season.
What do you think?
Follow Jack on Twitter at @ArmstrongWinter.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.
