Derrick Rose Earning Strong Reviews in Preseason, Except from Derrick Rose

CHICAGO — Derrick Rose has never lacked for confidence. Through two knee surgeries, two lost seasons and unquantifiable criticism and scrutiny, the 2010-11 NBA MVP has been steadfast in his belief that he'll return to form.

Sometimes, that confidence has been brash ("You can be a fool if you want to," he said last December when asked to address his doubters). This time around, it's more of a quiet self-assuredness. By now, he's heard everything, and he knows that nothing he can say will change anybody's mind until he proves it on the court.

Rose played 14 minutes in the Chicago Bulls' preseason opener on Monday, all in the first half, and finished with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the Bulls' 85-81 loss to the Washington Wizards. He knocked down a three-pointer, was aggressive in attacking the basket and looked comfortable doing whatever he decided to do on the court.

Since the Bulls kicked off training camp last week, Rose's message has been one of tempering expectations. He was never worried after his poor performance at last month's FIBA World Cup, but he's never pretended that it's a given his second comeback attempt will fare better than his first. He could get hurt again, or it could take a while to readjust to the NBA pace after essentially two years off.

USA TODAY Sports

Even after a preseason debut that went about as well as it could have, he didn't say anything at all. He left the locker room after the game without speaking to reporters even though it would have been an entirely positive scrum. Everyone would have asked him how he felt, and he would have said that his knees felt great and it was good to get back out on the court. He's been saying the same stuff for a week at training camp. It would have been a mere formality.

This didn't stop Rose's teammates from piling on the praise, however.

"(He looked) like Derrick," said Jimmy Butler. "Doing what he does, make the game look effortless and scoring the ball, getting up and down. It's good to have that guy back."

Pau Gasol played some word association when asked about his new teammate's first game in a Bulls uniform in almost a year: "Explosive, decisive, aggressive and effective."

"Derrick did a good job," added Taj Gibson. "Came out early, set the tone, had good touch on the ball and did a good job."

You get the idea.

Rose didn't need to sit at his locker and find every different way of saying that he felt good or that he was just trying to get back into a rhythm. He knows he played well on Monday night, but he also knows that his work is far from done.

He looked like his old self last preseason, too, averaging 19.8 points and 4.8 assists while shooting 42.1 percent from three-point range in six exhibition games. Once the games started to count in the standings, the rust reappeared, and he had just begun to shake it off when he tore the meniscus in his right knee, cutting that comeback short.

Gary Dineen/Getty Images

These preseason games are nothing more than a trial run, an opportunity for Rose to get back into the flow of playing against NBA players on a nightly basis. But in a way, his first comeback attempt was a trial run to get to where he is now. Last year, by his own admission, Rose was forcing things, trying a little too hard to prove to himself and his critics that he could be the player he was before the initial ACL injury.

Now, he knows that the only way to prove he can be is to just go out and do it.

It's not going to happen overnight. It's certainly not going to happen after a couple of good preseason games. Even if he puts together a better first month of the season than he did last year, the questions aren't going to go away. They won't go away until he gets through a whole season, preferably including a deep playoff run with the Bulls. At this time next year, if the words "Derrick Rose" don't have to be followed by "if he can ever stay healthy," the comeback will be a success.

In the meantime, he's learned that he can't fast-forward to that day or stop anybody from demanding to see results before giving him the benefit of the doubt. All he can do is bet on himself.