...happy one-year surgery anniversary, Derrick. I want to say this about DRose. It seems clear that Rose could play. Reports are that while he may not be 100%, he's been very impressive in practice. The Bulls are short-handed with the continuing medical problems of Deng and Hinrich. Rose has decided not to play. I can't relate to Rose's position, but I also can't relate to being a 24 year old African-American multi-millionaire elite professional athlete. What I do know about Derrick Rose is that I was a big fan before his ACL injury. He appeared to be a well-grounded and humble young man with a strong family support system. He came into the NBA with electrifying raw talent, but a laundry list of deficiencies that included defensive technique and awareness, getting the ball to open teammates on-time and in the right place and outside shooting. Rose worked like a demon to make himself better and, well, he made himself better. He earned our respect. Rose is taking a lot of heat from fans and the media right now. While I can't defend his decision to "wait 'til next year," I can't find it in me to join in the Rose-bashing. My reason is simple. While I clearly don't understand what goes on inside Rose's head, I do know me, and once Rose gets back on the court, I'm going to be a fan who admires not only his game, but also his refreshing humility and unrelenting work ethic. I still like Derrick Rose.
I was resigned to him missing the season anyway. The team was, too, judging by the moves it made. Why is anyone shocked? The guy is already the best thing to happen to the team since the last Rose (or Gordon). Our best hope is he's healthy with a team even better than last year's with the best regular season record.
I still like him, too. I think that many people aren't shocked, they are disappointed. And this disappointment leads to unfair decisions of this situation. Sometimes I've thought that he really needs to play now and not next season. But I don't know how he's feeling... So I think he know his body best. So let him make his own decision.
The frustrating this is that the Heat look a bit weaker than expected this year. Wade looks to be a shell this series. This would be a different series with a Rose that had been playing for 1 month. Winnable I dare say. Then the path to the Finals is clear. And Westbrook is out for the Thunder. Paths to actually win a NBA title are rare. It seems a shame to squander one when your MVP level talent and leader is healthy enough to play NBA basketball and choosing to not play NBA basketball (while still cashing that fat paycheck of course).
So, yah, I still like Derrick Rose. I still like Scottie Pippen too even after the 1.8 seconds incident. Of course, Pippen helped bring 6 championships to Chicago so there is a lot of goodwill there. Derrick Rose has brought 0 championships to Chicago. Also, the Pippen deal was a spur of the moment emotional poor decision. Derrick's has been more calculating and he's made the decision to not play many, many times since his doctors said it was OK for him to start playing again. So its a different deal. I'll still be rooting for him since I want to see another banner up in the UC rafters, but I won't forget this season either.
