The phrase "Derrick Rose is back" carries so much baggage, even though it's thrown around light-heartedly after every spectacular layup or incredible game these days. In truth, after two major knee injuries, Rose may never really be "back." His knees can heal and his game can thrive, but even if he wins two, three or four more MVP awards -- a highly unlikely notion at this point -- nothing can make up for those lost seasons.
Derrick Rose is back in MVP form, and it’s awesome
Injuries have forever altered Rose’s career, but his play against the Bucks so far has been a joyous reminder of when he became the youngest MVP ever.
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
But if you squint a little and forget his history, it really does look like the old Rose, destroying the Bucks in his first playoffs since 2012. After a 34-point outing in Game 3's double overtime win, where he played 48 minutes and tallied eight assists on 12-23 shooting, Rose is channeling his vintage self and has led the Bulls to a 3-0 series lead.
In the first three games, he’s averaging 24 points, eight assists and four rebounds a game. He’s shooting 47 percent from the floor and 45 percent behind the arc. His sweeping crossovers that propel him towards the rim like a bowling ball bouncing off bumpers are back. He’s hopping into his shots behind the arc with confidence.
Though he had stretches like this during the regular season, his play was never this consistent. Some nights he’d take 20 shots and score 30 points. Other times, he’d take 13 and only make one. The notion that he was taking games off to rest was criticized by some, but when you see him attack the rim more consistently and look more like the Rose of old now that the games really matter, how can you complain? Plays like this are what we want to see.
The Bulls need this Rose. Their defense, always stout under Tom Thibodeau, has Joakim Noah as its perennial backbone and Jimmy Butler as an enforcer who has quickly risen through the ranks. But the offense, though filled with talented players, needs Rose at the helm to break down defenders and shimmy his way past his man to either score or give another Bull a chance to.
In the playoffs so far, the Bulls are averaging 112 points per 100 possessions with Rose on the floor and giving up only 94 per 100. The Bulls’ net rating (points scored minus points allowed per 100) is an excellent plus-9 through the first three games against the Bucks, but Rose’s plus-18 is twice that.
He was a positive during the regular season -- 105 points scored per 100 with him on the floor opposed to 101 allowed -- but not like he has been in these playoffs. These numbers look much more like Rose in his MVP year, where the Bulls scored 108 per 100 possessions with him on the floor and gave up only 99.
It’s not fair to keep comparing him to his MVP season, but it’s the easiest point of reference. That was Rose at his best. This is Rose now, trying to regain his former glory, doing his best to creep out of the shadow that the trophy and the injuries and the memes and the shoe deals and everything else that has overshadowed his on-court play.
Appreciating Rose for what he is now is easier said than done, especially after getting a taste of that MVP version. His career has been forever altered by the ACL and meniscus tears in back-to-back seasons. But watching him in these three games against the Bucks, seeing him attack without fear or trepidation, he has reminded us of the young stud who was about to take over the league and nearly made us forget all the baggage that it has taken to get here.
In that sense, Derrick Rose is back.
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