Derrick Rose May Not Be Back But He's Back Enough, Game 3 Recap
There’s this funny thing that happens to athletes when they suffer a career altering injury, everyone turns the narrative to “is he back?”. Tiger Woods will live with that question for the rest of his career, is he back, is he the guy we once knew? And just like Tiger, that is Derrick Rose’s new reality. Every time he has a game like last night, a game where he did everything, people will say is Derrick Rose back? And the answer, just like Tiger Woods, is no. He’ll never be the guy who won the league MVP, he’ll never be crazy reckless Derrick Rose, and that’s totally fine, because what we saw last night was that Derrick Rose can still take over a game when he has to. He’ll never be the consistent guy you can rely on. He’ll have nights like Monday where he goes 4-14, but then he’ll do things like last night, put the team on his back, attack the rim over and over, go 12-23 from the floor and almost single handily win the game for the Bulls. And that’s the Derrick Rose that is the key to this team. I’ve set my expectations at an appropriate level. The Bulls aren’t the best team in the NBA, the Cavs will be a difficult 7 game matchup, but at least we have a chance. The ceiling is Derrick Rose, and nights like last night remind you that when he reaches that ceiling, he can play with anyone in the league.
Other Notes
-I love Jimmy
-Derrick Rose being able to attack the room adds such a swagger to this team. You could see it in his body language, that drive is back, that will to crush his opponents is there. Last year the Bulls couldn’t score a single basket down the stretch of a playoff game, this year they know they can get points from a few different guys.
-Joakim isn’t right. That knee injury that has been plaguing him all year just seems a little off, not the same lift. This more than D-Rose or Niko concerns me for the next round.
-Alright, fine, you got us there Milwaukee, but at least we don’t, you know, live in Milwaukee.
-How about Tony Snell? Straight up assassin down the stretch last night. If he and Mirotic get hot next series, look out.
– Love Scottie repping puffy vest nation
-We end with a double dose of Thibs. Bulls will have to play a lot better than this to beat the Cavs but the pieces are there, things can happen.