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"I'm there, man," Rose said, when asked how close he is to playing like his old self. "I'm not worried about that. My confidence is very high, and that's the only thing you might see this year -- that my confidence level is through the roof."
He said that last year he 'wanted it too, too bad' and did not have enough patience in coming back, so this time around he will use more caution.
Quote:
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, who also serves as an assistant on Team USA's staff, was pleased with what he saw from Rose on Monday. He said Rose's speed and explosiveness looked the same as ever.
"We saw the quickness and the explosion in the summer league practices," Thibodeau said.
I think this Bulls team could be special if Rose can get back to some semblance of his former self. I imagine he will be somewhat altering his game similar to what MJ did after his foot injury. Jordan still would make the spectacular drives to the hoop, just not every time down the floor.
The three toughest slots to fill for any NBA team are the point guard, center, and coach. If Rose can come back, the Bulls have pieces in place at all three.
Means nothing at this point. He felt confident last time too and that didn't turn out so well. Not even 26 and he's already had two major knee injuries. We're probably not going to see the 2011 Derrick Rose again, but I think he can still contribute if he can stay healthy.
It's hard to imagine how good a Bulls team could be with this vastly improved roster.
It would be nice to have a playoffs where we beat the snot out of some of the teams that have been getting a free pass in recent years by facing a grossly depleted Bulls squad. Then some of their fans have walked around talking trash.....
I think people tend to compare Rose to guys like Sam Bowie and Greg Oden, but I don't think those guys ever did make it back to anything close to pre-injury form. Of course either way it is sheer speculation to predict, but the signs are positive for Rose.
Sounds like Love is definitely going to Cleveland, so the Bulls will be probably be going with the roster as is. Hopefully Butler worked on his shot and will come back from a disappointing year offensively. I think he has the potential. Gasol will add some offense, and hopefully McDermott and/or Mirotic too, so that Rose does not have to score 25/game. This should be a terrific rebounding team w/ their size, and should again be very good defensively under coach thibs.
I think people tend to compare Rose to guys like Sam Bowie and Greg Oden, but I don't think those guys ever did make it back to anything close to pre-injury form. Of course either way it is sheer speculation to predict, but the signs are positive for Rose.
Sounds like Love is definitely going to Cleveland, so the Bulls will be probably be going with the roster as is. Hopefully Butler worked on his shot and will come back from a disappointing year offensively. I think he has the potential. Gasol will add some offense, and hopefully McDermott and/or Mirotic too, so that Rose does not have to score 25/game. This should be a terrific rebounding team w/ their size, and should again be very good defensively under coach thibs.
McDermott can score from anywhere on the floor too....he is right now as good or better than any player taken in the draft, he just doesn't have the perceived "upside" due to "athleticism" but his scouting report is that he's incredibly skilled and ready to contribute.
He averaged 18ppg in summer league and could be instant offense off the bench.
He's extremely comfortable coming off picks and screens and cutting and moving without the ball. With passers like Gasol and Noah I can see that being a lot of easy points.
Frankly, I think he's the quiet steal of the draft costing the Bulls something like the 16th and 18th picks to move up and get him at the 11th spot....for the guy that won every single major award last year in college...naismisth, AP, Wooden etc etc etc.
He needs work on defense. Thibs will help there.
Mirotic is also no 19 yo right out of an obligatory year in college.
He averaged 12-5 in just 24mpg with his euro team so he can definitely score.
Plus, he's only signed for 3yrs/16.6mil. They aren't going to get burned too bad if he's a bust.
Considering mirotic and McD will be playing 2nd string with Gibson etc. against other teams 2nd stringers I think they should be able to do quite well.
Bulls get an A for their off-season moves. If Rose is healthy and Cleveland gets Love, we could be in for one heckuva ECF folks and 2 teams that could actually pose a threat to whomever exits the west.
I hope you are right about McDermott. Other than maybe Kyle Korver the Bulls have not really had a great outside marksman since the days of Paxson & Kerr, at least not that I can think of. I read somewhere that McDermott has a 36 or 37 vertical, so I don't think he'll be one of those plodders who just can't keep up in the NBA.
W/ rookies, I do take a wait and see attitude, having seen so many highly touted college players whose game just didn't translate to the NBA. Do you remember Marcus Liberty? I thought for sure that he would be an all-star in the NBA. He lasted 4 seasons and was done. I saw him play once here in Seattle when he was a Denver Nugget.
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