VIDEO: Derrick Rose talks about his long road back to the Bulls
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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS — Can we finally get all those people who climbed on Derrick Rose’s back to play last spring to admit they were wrong, wrong, wrong?
This was the guy who was supposed to risk his MVP career on a surgically repaired left knee to go out and lift the Bulls up, up, up and over the Heat?
This guy who, six months later, has made 15 of his 52 shots (28.8 percent), turned the ball over 17 times, dealt just 13 assists and grabbed only 11 rebounds in three games? This guy who couldn’t keep up with rookie Michael Carter-Williams’ drives to the hoop?
The Bulls are now 1-2 after falling to the indomitable Sixers and, as noted by Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago, the All-Star is taking responsibility:
“If it was up to me, I would blame tonight on me,” Rose said after shooting 4-for-14 with eight turnovers in Philly. “Turnovers, missed shots, missed communication on defense — I just can’t wait to get in my groove. But I can’t hang my head; I know I’ve worked too hard for that, so it’s going to come.”
That’s just the point. The old Rose is going to come, eventually. Now some of those who were so foolishly prodding him to get back on the floor late last season when he did not yet have full confidence in his knee are complaining that Rose could have gotten the “rust knocked off” six months ago, and now would be in full bloom again.
It simply doesn’t work that way. Those who sit at home and watch on TV or even those who plunk down big money for the expensive seats have little understanding what it takes to overcome a major injury/surgery. Then, an Adrian Peterson pulls off a virtually unprecedented feat in the NFL last season and the bar is suddenly raised for everyone.
“Amnesia,” Rose said of his mindset, noting that the season is just three games old. “I have games like this. [I'm] coming off a big surgery or whatever, but all I can do is get the most out of every practice, every shootaround, every shooting session, and go out there and play, but it’s going to come to me.”
It is certainly admirable, and perhaps expected from what we know of his personality, that 35-year-old Kobe Bryant vows to push the limits of credulity and his body in getting back into the Lakers lineup sooner than most anyone thought possible. However, Kobe is Kobe and only time will tell if can live up to his own always high expectations.
Rose’s struggles now only prove that he made the right decision back then.
