What Did You Do with Derrick Rose, Derrick Rose?

He’s not in the MVP discussion by any stretch of the imagination, but Derrick Rose appears to be finding his footing again as a NBA player. His improvement is an encouraging sign.

In the 13 games (out of a possible 15) Derrick Rose played in during the first two months of the season, Rose scored 13.5 points per game and shot just 36.1 percent from the field.

Between the beginning of December up to Thursday night’s blowout win over the Los Angeles Lakers, Rose is scoring 16.3 points per game and shooting 46.7 percent in 26 games.

Throughout the season, Rose has battled some nagging injuries — a fractured orbital bone, sprained ankle, sore back (and hamstring) — but the former league MVP appears to being finding a second wind after a poor start to this season.

Here is Rose’s shot chart from the month of November:

In the month of November, Rose shot just 35.3 percent from the field and scored 13.3 points per game in 10 games. (Both averages are the lowest in any month so far this season.)

Through 12 games this month, here’s what Rose’s shot chart looks like:

As you can see, Rose’s chart this month looks less like a stop sign on the street and more like a player who seems to be finding his game offensively.

In January alone, Rose is scoring 17.4 points per game on 46 percent shooting.

I mean, when’s the last time you’ve seen Derrick Rose do this?

Now granted, LeBron James‘ defense isn’t what it used to be, but still.

As the season goes on, Rose is finding more and more confidence in his game, despite the Bulls struggling to stay afloat with injuries and inconsistent play.

That confidence was on display in the city Rose calls home in the offseason on Thursday against the Lakers, too. Rose exited the game against the Miami Heat early on Monday night with the back/hamstring issues, but bounced back perfectly on Thursday.

The Lakers are atrocious, but Rose playing with this kind of swagger is a telling sign for his progress.

Yeah, he just threw that pass to E’Twaun Moore behind his back.

Rose’s game is carrying over to his backcourt mate Jimmy Butler as well. Butler is in the midst of an even better season than last year, but it’s starting to feel like the load offensively is becoming balanced between the two stars.

In Thursday’s win alone, Rose and Butler combined for 42 of the Bulls’ 114 points on 18-of-29 shooting from the floor with 15 assists and 12 rebounds.

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Sure, it’s the Lakers and losing is actually winning this season, but it’s encouraging to not only see Butler play at a high level, but Rose too.

“It’s always gonna improve. It’s new for me, it’s new for him,” Rose said of his chemistry with Butler, via Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago.

“Playing with an elite guard, we’re very young. The way he’s playing is great, I want him to shoot more but I love his shot selection. The way he’s driving and getting to the lane, it’s helping our team all along.”

Those thoughts from Rose bring this to mind:

(Those 92 games don’t count last year’s preseason or postseason games against Milwaukee and Cleveland.)

Next: Jimmy Butler Named to the Eastern Conference Reserves for All-Star Game

The Bulls clearly have a lot of work to do before the All-Star break and beyond. Without Joakim Noah for the rest of the season and Nikola Mirotic until at least Feb. 18, it’s going to be up to Rose and Butler to carry the load on the road for six of the final seven games before Butler heads to Toronto.