Biggest Takeaways from Derrick Rose's Stellar Performance Against the Cavaliers

Derrick Rose is back, and it feels like he never left.

The Chicago Bulls point guard turned in a vintage effort Monday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, contributing 30 points in only 24 minutes of action. It was easily his best scoring output of the preseason.

Remember, Rose is only 11 months removed from a torn meniscus. And before that, a torn left ACL sidelined Rose for the entire 2012-13 campaign.

Monday was probably the closest we’ve seen to the old Rose. ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell had nothing but good things to say about Rose following his breakout performance.

Yahoo’s Marc J. Spears had his reservations about Rose after his subpar showing at the World Cup this summer, but Monday’s game won him over.

Though Rose deflected praise after the game, Bulls center Joakim Noah was clearly excited to see the former MVP play at such a high level.

“He’s our big gun,” said Noah via ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “So just to see him play like that, I know how hard he’s worked to get here.”

Cutting Down on Turnovers

In some ways, the 2014 version of Rose may be even better than the original. For one thing, he’s taking much better care of the ball.

Rose didn’t commit a single turnover on Monday and has only given the ball up 12 times in 144 minutes this preseason. That’s a rate of four turnovers per 48 minutes. When Rose won the MVP in 2011, he coughed up the ball 4.41 times per 48 minutes.

The Bulls were 3-1 when Rose committed three or fewer turnovers last season and just 2-4 when he had more than three. So there appears to be at least some correlation between winning and the amount of turnovers Rose commits.

Shooting the Three

Rose’s shooting stroke has also improved. He was 4-of-5 from deep on Monday and has shot 10-of-25 from that distance during the preseason. That 40 percent clip from three-point range is miles ahead of the 34 percent success rate Rose posted in 2013-14.

Think about it. Even without a consistent jumper, Rose was already one of the better transition players in the league and an elite finisher at the rim. Adding three-point range to his arsenal could make the 26-year-old unstoppable.

This seems to be the new norm among players returning from injury. Rajon Rondo was a dreadful three-point shooter before tearing his ACL, making just 24 percent of his attempts in 2012-13. He was at least competent after his return (28.9 percent). Though not as pronounced as Rondo’s improvement, Russell Westbrook was marginally better from three-point range after his knee injury in 2014 (30.9 percent on threes in the first half, 32.7 percent after the All-Star break).

Beasts of the East

Even before seeing Rose dominate on Monday, LeBron James had already declared the Bulls the best team in the Eastern Conference. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, James said, “[The Bulls] are a team that’s much better than us right now just off chemistry. They’ve been together a while. We’ve got a long way to go.”

With the breakup of Miami’s Big Three, a healthy Rose and the Indiana Pacers losing Paul George to a broken leg, there’s a good chance the Cavaliers and Bulls will square off for the Eastern Conference Finals next spring.

Staying Cautious

As good as Rose looked on Monday night, Chicago will proceed cautiously with its star point guard. After playing a preseason-high 28 minutes against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday, head coach Tom Thibodeau trimmed Rose’s playing time to 24 minutes on Monday.

Though it happened almost a year ago, Rose’s injury is still fresh on everyone’s mind. After Rose tripped on Cavs forward Lou Amundson late in the second quarter, all of his teammates rushed from the sidelines to see if he was okay. Thankfully, he was.

Rose has played just 10 games over the last two regular seasons, so it’s understandable why his teammates would be a bit jumpy. Though it’s unlikely the Bulls will pull away, especially while playing in the same division as Cleveland, they could look to give Rose some breathers late in the year if their postseason spot is secure.

The Bulls have one more tune-up Friday against Minnesota before the regular season gets underway October 29 against New York.

If you enjoyed Monday’s game, you won’t have to wait long for the rematch. The Bulls and Cavaliers play again October 31 at United Center. We’ll see if Cleveland has an answer for Rose next time.