Derrick Rose says he will play Monday night against the Orlando Magic after missing Saturday's win over the Milwaukee Bucks because of left knee soreness. "I'm feeling good," Rose said after Monday's shootaround. "In good spirits, my knee is fine, so I'm not worried about it. Nothing I didn't have before, it's just a little sore, so [I'm] just trying to be cautious about it." Rose said he did not have to get an MRI on the knee after feeling some soreness after Friday night's loss to the Washington Wizards. Read more http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/stor...s-says-knee-fine-play-monday-vs-orlando-magic
I feel like the report of a visit to Brian Cole was a good reminder of what we should expect from Rose this season . . . which is nothing. If he finishes this season healthy we should be pleased, no matter what his production looks like. It's like Zydrunas Ilgauskas coming back from injury in 01-02. You take your 11 points and 5.5 rebounds and thank your lucky stars. The Cavs are probably going to be better next season; maybe the Wizards too. It would be great if Rose began to ball consistently this season but just because the Bulls have a shot at a ring doesn't change his recovery timeline.
The numbers don't tell the story in this case. His being out there definitely opens the floor for the other guys.
So when Rose is on the floor, he's making it easier for his teammates to score, but those teammates not only don't score more, they score less?
Better shots, maybe fewer ones though. Mr. ~8 PER gets open looks because his man doubles Rose or shadows him.
Rose is also playing with a handicap. I'm not talking about his injury and rust. The lineup much of the time he's in the game includes at least 2 guys who aren't very good scorers: Dunleavy and Noah or Kirk and Noah.
Which player on the team regularly plays with 4+ very good scorers? Anyway, if that's what you see, that's what you see. Feels a little too excusey for my taste. What I see is a wildly inconsistent player. Part of this is probably due to something else I've seen, namely that Rose "coasts" a lot. In coast mode, he goes long stretches without even trying to get into the paint, famously hoisting up long jumpers, often way too damn early in the shot clock. When he's in coast mode, he often is routinely beaten up and down the court by the opposing point guard. In coast mode, Rose isn't even a replacement-level player. I expect to see less and less of the coasting Rose as the team approaches the playoffs.
He's wildly inconsistent, that is true if you look at the season as a whole. He's actually been extremely good since game 14 of the season, except for his recent cold stretch. That ~.250 shooting stretch seems over since he's been 8-19 and 8-15 shooting nights the past two games. The 2nd unit features Mirotic, Taj, and Aaron Brooks along with Jimmy. That's 4 of 5 who can score.
I think there is still some mental stuff with Rose after missing 2 seasons with knee injuries. He is playing cautious. Hopefully he will gain confidence as more time goes by.
