Derrick Rose's Double Vision Could Last Multiple Months, Says Fred Hoiberg
As criticism of Derrick Rose's play crests in Chicago, Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg offered some insight into why the former MVP is struggling: He's still dealing with double vision in his left eye—and it's not going away anytime soon.
Hoiberg said Sunday that Rose's double vision could linger for up to three months, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
Rose, 27, suffered an orbital fracture in a September practice, limiting him to just 10 minutes of preseason action. He has been in the lineup for each of Chicago's first nine regular-season games wearing a protective mask but is playing the worst basketball of his career.
Heading into Monday's game against the Pacers, Rose is averaging a career-low 12.6 points and 6.0 assists per game. He's shooting just 35.9 percent from the floor, including a disconcerting 5.6 percent from three-point range.
"When I'm out there playing, I'm only using one of my eyes," Rose said last month, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. "I close my left eye whenever I'm out there. So I just got used to it from practice."
Playing with 50 percent vision is obviously less than ideal, especially given Rose's struggles to perform at an All-Star-caliber level last season with two working eyes. The Bulls have been outscored by 2.6 points per 100 possessions with Rose on the floor and lap their opponents by 11.1 points with him on the bench, per Basketball-Reference.com.
Rose is supposed to be a franchise pillar, not an active negative. His inability to shoot from long range makes him a liability off the ball, and he's not been an effective enough creator with the ball in his hands to justify taking possessions away from Jimmy Butler.
The alternative is playing Aaron Brooks 30 minutes a night, so it's not realistic to sit Rose down. But those who were expecting a return to form in 2015-16 might not get what they hoped for.
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