The Good, the Bad and the Hopeful from Derrick Rose's FIBA Appearances
Derrick Rose is going through growing pains. The Chicago Bulls’ star point guard has begun his return to basketball with Team USA in Spain as a part of their roster in the FIBA World Cup, and he’s shooting a paltry 21.6 percent from the field thus far.
This could have been expected. When Rose returned last fall, after missing the entirety of the 2012-13 season recovering from a tragically torn ACL, his numbers were similar. He tallied a career-low 35 percent shooting and tied a career-high 3.4 turnovers per game over 10 contests before tearing his meniscus and missing the rest of the year.
Now, like then, Rose is showing his body has recovered to full explosive capacity. He’s got the speed, hops and singular instincts he’s always had. But the finer points of his game aren’t there yet.
At his best, Rose is an auteur of dynamic layups, making shots at breakneck speed, from difficult angles, often using the backboard in unique ways while doing so. He hasn’t been able to regain that game-changing skill set since he tore his ACL. Doing so, hopeful Bulls logic says, will require a lot of floor time. Rose will need dozens of NBA games to play through his mistakes and become the MVP-level offensive force we remember him as.
The flip side to the Rose conundrum isn’t as bad as it may seem. It’s possible that he’ll never become the player he was before. His body simply may not allow him to play at the pace that made him famous for a full season. Whether it be from injury or not, we may never see the same Rose again.
But the Bulls are unquestionably due for a major upgrade at point guard this season, regardless of how long Rose takes to redevelop his game. He’s moved the ball very wisely with Team USA, finding ace shooters like Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry for open three-pointers. Despite his shaky shooting percentages, Rose still knows how to demand the defense’s attention and make them pay for it—in fact, he looks better at it than ever.
A more patient Rose has emerged. He doesn't look frazzled, he's rarely in a rush. He’s let the game come to him and swung the ball around wisely. When he sees an opening toward the lane, he takes it and gets to the rim. In time, he should be able to convert from there.
His defense will probably come along, too. Rose has struggled to cover his man at times in Spain, but his mistakes aren't physical as much as mental. He's lost track of the endless subtleties and nuances that go into the complex chess match that is guarding professional basketball players. He allows his man angles he usually wouldn't, and he gets slightly lost in defensive rotations.
No talented player who's got Tom Thibodeau at his daily disposal can keep making those mistakes. Rose will fit into the Bulls' steely defensive strings just fine—anything else would be a surprise.
In any event, Rose’s time with Team USA can only be seen as a positive. Unless he gets injured, he’s on the floor making progress, getting his legs under him and becoming more ready for the upcoming season. Per Blog a Bull’s Ricky O’Donnell:
"It is September, and so it would be very silly to get too concerned about Rose just yet. Even if this is a sign that he may not hit the ground running at the start of the season for the Bulls, there's nothing wrong with idea of him using the first few months to get back his feel for the game and his comfort with the ball in his hands. Sometimes, these things take time.
"
The most likely scenario involves protracted struggles from Rose, amounting eventually to his return as one of the most impactful players in the game. He could always get hurt again, but if not, the most rational result is the one Bulls fans are hoping for. They'll just have to wait for it.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
