March 01--Derrick Rose began his third rehabilitation after a knee surgery in the last 34 months Saturday and displayed full confidence he will return to action this season.
Though Rose won't address the media formally for a while, he roamed the Advocate Center hallways in good spirits, walking fine, openly vowing to overcome his latest setback to play down this season's stretch.
In fact, something would have to go very unexpectedly wrong for Rose not to play this season. But what kind of player will return?
In the last game before the All-Star break against the Cavaliers, Rose drove and dished. He pushed the pace and played in control. The youngest most valuable player in NBA history attacked and contorted his body to finish improbable scoring drives.
In short, Rose, whose 30 points and seven assists capped a 16-game stretch of strong play, displayed the rare combination of power and athleticism that once made his future seem limitless and his Hall of Fame candidacy a worthy topic.
Other games, most noticeably in two of his three post-All-Star-break appearances, Rose has shot poorly and played passively.
Given that this expected inconsistency followed Rose's two-season period in which he played in just 10 games, it's fair to wonder what another four to six week layoff will do to Rose's game.
"He'll get past this hurdle," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "He has made it through two tough rehabs. This one will be much shorter, and he'll get back to being who he is."
The Bulls and medical experts were quick to point out Rose's third procedure, a meniscectomy that trimmed off a small piece of his right meniscus, was a relatively minor one. To this point, Rose's surgically repaired left knee after an April 2012 ACL tear has stabilized.
Still, Rose himself has talked about easing into games, becoming more of a facilitator, taking what defenses give him, not attacking the rim as much. Pre-knee injuries, Rose played with a reckless abandon that looked like his shoes were on fire.
The Cavaliers' game featured easily Rose's most turn-back-the-clock performance this season. That he hasn't played similarly more consistently this season is in part because of a player making his way back from two seasons of inactivity and also a reflection of a deeper, more offensively adept rotation.
With Rose due to make $41.3 million over the next two seasons, the Bulls have to hope it's not a harbinger of Rose's post-surgeries career.
"When you're off the amount of time he has been off, there are going to be ups and downs," Thibodeau said. "Right before the break, he was finally getting into a real good rhythm. I think he's confident he'll get back to that. It may take a little bit of time. Obviously, he won't be playing the same amount of minutes when he does come back. But he knows he can get there. And that's the most important thing."
Rose, 26, is averaging 18.4 points and five assists on 40.7 percent shooting in 46 games this season. With a career-high 5.5 3-point attempts he's shooting just 28.7 percent from that distance.
While Rose's overall shooting percentage is the second-lowest of his six seasons, trailing only last season's abbreviated 10-game campaign in which he connected at 35.4 percent, his per-36-minute scoring average of 21.3 points is third-highest of his career.
"He had regained his confidence," Thibodeau said. "He had great rhythm. And he was doing all the things he had done before, playing a great floor game. He got back to not only the layups in the paint but the mid-range game. He had a great balance as to what he was doing offensively."
Rose still demands either a double-team or constant defensive attention. He's the rare Bull who can break down defenses and get his own shot. With a deeper team, the Bulls may not need Rose to play hero ball all the time.
But, obviously, they will need him to return at a high level to keep championship aspirations intact.
"He showed this year that he's back in a good place physically," general manager Gar Forman said. "We have great confidence in Derrick and his character and his discipline and his work ethic. From his teammates to everybody in the organization, we're all really confident that he'll do everything he can to come back and be 100 percent."
kcjohnson@tribpub.com
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