In a recent interview with USA Today Sports, Derrick Rose said that he’s still a “damn good player”.
The four-year journey of Derrick Rose has been well-documented since becoming the league’s youngest MVP ever after the 2010-11 season and then being plagued by injuries through a lockout-shortened season the next year that contributed to a torn ACL in the postseason.
Add two more knee surgeries and an endless list of annoying injuries all over his body since the ACL tear and Rose’s reputation around Chicago and around the game itself took a hit.
But, despite the adversity, Rose’s confidence isn’t lacking and quite frankly, it shouldn’t be.
“I don’t know if everyone knows, but I feel like I’m a damn good player,” Rose said to USA Today‘s Jeff Zillgitt. “For someone who went through what I went through and come back and change their or modify their game to where I’m still productive on the court without using my speed all the time, it tells a lot if you know basketball.”
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I mean, he may have a point. Three knee injuries and a list of injuries could break just anyone.
Remember when Rose needed orbital bone surgery after a Taj Gibson elbow and still played late in the preseason and in the season-opening victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers?
When Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg spoke with reporters on Tuesday, Hoiberg spoke on the improvement in Rose’s game from the start of the season, including an impromptu bit on Rose’s return after eye surgery.
“Did he come back too soon? Looking back on it, we could’ve got him in better rhythm and better shape to start the year,” Hoiberg said, via CSN Chicago‘s Vincent Goodwill. “But he wanted to be out there with his teammates for the first game.”
There was this thought by long-time Chicago Tribune Bulls beat writer K.C. Johnson, too:
Funny: Rose gets killed for addressing soreness tied to potential knee issues but little credit playing opener not in shape after eye injury
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) March 22, 2016
Since Jan. 28, Rose has missed six games with a number of different injuries, but in that time frame, Rose is scoring 19.6 points per game on 48 percent shooting. To further show the improvement in his game, he’s only taken 2.1 three-pointers per contest and is making 38.5 percent of them.
Throw in 5.5 assists a night into those numbers and a few flashes of the “Old Rose” and there may be something here.
In this write-up from seven weeks ago (coincidentally, a day after the sample size of stats began above), Rose was already gaining traction. In January to that point, he was averaging 17.4 points per game on 46 percent shooting.
To sum that point up, before the turn of the new year, Rose was averaging 14.4 points per game on 38.6 shooting.
Sure, I’ve been one of the many to criticize Rose’s game and production throughout the year and yeah, Rose may say a thing or two to get himself in some deep water, but Rose deserves credit for the “second half” (give or take a few games) of this season. He’s looked to attack more often than not and he’s played in 57 games already this season.
To put that in perspective, he played in 61 games … in the last two seasons combined.
That’s not good.
“Trust me, I’m grateful. I’m happy,” Rose said, via Zillgitt. “I’m just happy to be where I’m at and like I always say, my appreciation of the game just grows every day, every year. I’m just loving where I’m at.”
Next: Looking at the Final 13 Games for the Bulls
He should be happy. The Bulls are fighting for their playoff lives in the final 13 games of the year, but Rose is a part of the action. That should be all that matters for him and for the Bulls.