Derrick Rose Silences Critics in Big Win over Oklahoma City Thunder

CHICAGO — Sometimes, all it takes is one game to change the entire conversation.

Coming into Thursday night, the Chicago Bulls were reeling from a humiliating 25-point blowout loss to the Charlotte Hornets, and Derrick Rose was coming off his first-ever stretch of three consecutive games scoring fewer than 10 points. Couple that with renewed whispers (this time from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst) that a breakup between Rose and the Bulls was inevitable, and both player and team desperately needed to change the narrative.

A 104-98 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on national TV will do the trick. So will a 29-point explosion from Rose, coupled with a solid defensive performance against summer workout buddy and generally unguardable space alien Russell Westbrook in their first head-to-head matchup since 2010.

If anybody was in panic mode following Rose’s recent struggles, they were singing a different tune after Thursday’s game.

“I’m happy for him putting on a performance like he did tonight,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said after the game. “He has really been working his butt off, putting in extra time at the gym. A game like tonight will be great for his confidence.”

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Rose’s vision is still blurred, an unfortunate side effect from the surgery he had during training camp to repair an orbital fracture below his left eye. The impaired vision led to passive play over the last week—not just the low-scoring performances, but not looking to attack as much as he’s normally accustomed to.

Thursday night was a different story.

“The last couple of games I only shot seven or eight shots,” Rose said after the game. “You couldn't tell which way the game was going to go. I knew things were getting out of hand in the Charlotte game, after they went up eight or 10 points. But with my eye like this, I don't want to affect the game in a way where I'm messing up the game. I want to do something positive and get my teammates in the right position, and by that time the game was over. So tonight, I was just trying to be aggressive. I'm still getting my rhythm, and it's slowly coming to me.”

It’s a long process—not just feeling his way through Fred Hoiberg’s new playbook, but getting his conditioning back after the eye injury kept him out for most of camp. He may have had a healthy offseason for the first time since 2011, but the facial fracture set the clock back on what he had hoped would be a fruitful comeback.

Instead, he’s started the year playing catch-up, which has led to inconsistency. 

“I'm just getting reps up,” Rose said. “I missed two weeks after I got hit. I had two weeks not to do anything. I couldn't get my blood pressure up. You have to just sit in the house all day. You can't argue, you can't do anything. You just have to chill. I couldn't work out. So you come from there, then I played in the last preseason game, and then I think we've played five or six games now. It's all about rhythm, getting my timing back.”

Thursday was the first glimpse the Bulls got this season of just how dangerous the backcourt tandem of Rose and Jimmy Butler can be. Butler carried the team in the first half while Rose struggled shooting, and Rose took over in the second half of a game the Bulls controlled the whole way.

“We’re confident in him taking all the shots that he takes because he is also looking to pass to the open guy,” Butler said. “When he is rolling like that it just makes everybody’s job easier.”

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

The stakes for this particular test couldn’t have been much higher, as far as regular-season games go. Just over a week into the season, already the subject of renewed scrutiny, Rose was facing as tough a matchup at his position as you’ll find in the NBA. If his 12-of-25 shooting left a little to be desired in the efficiency column, his solid defense on Westbrook was encouraging, as were his seven assists to just two turnovers.

“I thought [Rose’s decision-making] was great,” said Hoiberg. “He only had two turnovers, which is great. For him to have a game like this, I know is a huge confidence booster. Our guys are very happy for him because they know how hard he worked in the offseason and how much time he’s put in to get back after the injuries.”

Rose’s path back to stardom has been full of stops and starts, but one thing has remained constant: Rose’s teammates’ belief in his work ethic and his commitment to returning to greatness.

“F--k it,” Joakim Noah said of recent criticism of Rose. “When you play with somebody like Derrick Rose especially, it’s just…I know he doesn’t care at all. But it bothers me especially for him because I know people don’t realize how hard it is to play especially when you’ve gone through things he has gone through, the injuries.”

He’s still going through it, and there will be more roadblocks along the way. But Thursday’s win and Rose’s performance were as promising as it gets.

Sean Highkin covers the Chicago Bulls for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.