#thereturn

#thereturn

By Paul Steeno

Last May, during a first round playoff game against the Philadelphia 76ers, millions of jaws collectively dropped as Derrick Rose went down clutching his knee and rolling on the floor with an anguished grimace on his face. As trainers walked Rose off to the locker room, speculation immediately ensued as to the extent of the injury. The diagnosis was a torn ACL in Rose’s knee. An inevitable 9-12 month rehabilitation period would follow. Thousands of Bulls fans throughout the country wondered when Rose would be back and if he would ever be the same.

After Derrick Rose’s major ACL surgery, he spent several months intensely rehabbing his knee in preparation for his eventual return. It has been recently reported that Derrick Rose is taking full contact in practice but recent developments potentially hamper any chance of a swift return. Derrick Rose recently revealed that “I’m not coming back until I’m 110%. “ When asked what percent he is currently at, Rose stated, “probably in the high 80s. Far, far away.” These recent quotes have cast doubts on a once plausibly imminent return. The actions that the Bulls take before the February 21 trade deadline could be a good forecaster for when Rose is going to come back. If one of the current point guards is traded, that could signal that Rose will return this year. If all three point guards on the current Bulls roster are kept, Rose will probably not return this year.

So what can be expected when Derrick Rose finally returns to action? As nice as it would be, Derrick Rose will not immediately regain pre-injury dominant form. A large portion of his pre-injury game relied on athleticism which will temporarily be stripped from him due to the extent of his injury. With time Rose will regain his athleticism, by next season expect him to be near 100%. As for this year, if he does come back this year, expect Rose to be a pass first point guard. The benefit of this initial playing style is it will catalyze the adjustment period needed for team chemistry to develop. Second, expect Derrick Rose to take a lot more jump shots this year. Because of the limited amount of motion oriented things that Derrick Rose could do throughout his rehabilitation process, Rose spent long hours perfecting his somewhat shaky jump shot. Expect a drastic increase in Derrick Rose’s field goal percentage. Based on the way the Chicago Bulls are playing this year, the potential addition of Derrick Rose should make them legitimate contenders.

Get pumped for the return of the best point guard in the league by watching #thereturn at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UMkCMeDUCg.