Westerlund: Derrick Rose's Search For The Middle Ground
By Cody Westerlund-
CHICAGO (CBS) – The question has hovered over the Bulls for nearly 31 months now, a query never to be escaped so long as the hometown icon remains the salary cap-consuming cornerstone of a proud franchise in its championship window.
What's Derrick's status?
This is the new normal, the unyielding breakdown of all details of point guard Derrick Rose, once a star and now, everyone wonders, hopes, dreams, a star again?
What's Derrick's status? It's the first question Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau takes in nearly every pregame media session, the one that must be asked but one so monotonous that it's even driven a diabolical film viewer who usually only jokes about movies and steakhouses to let his guard down.
"He's probably, questionable, could be doubtful," Thibodeau said before Rose scored 24 points and dished out seven assists in Chicago's 102-91 win against Detroit on Monday at the United Center.
"I'm trying to follow the protocol. I'm confused."
As all the couch doctors, talking heads and Bulls faithful debate how much and how often to use Rose as he's added two early season sprained ankles to his second comeback from a devastating knee injury, Thibodeau has remained steadfast in what he'd like to see.
"The thing is, I think he just has to play," Thibodeau said. "I really do. Play basketball – the game tells you what you should do."
For the most part, Thibodeau sees black, and he sees white. This is evidenced by his chasing of regular-season wins in a manner that so many chasing championships don't, but in the precarious return of Rose, Thibodeau has been the leading voice in tempering expectations.
Whereas Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski said in August that he thought Rose was "elite" again, Thibodeau so often talked about how beneficial the summer was for Rose to perform against high-level competition on a consistent basis. That's what mattered most to him, Rose on the court.
For all the criticism Thibodeau takes in his heavy usage of players – and deservedly so Monday when Jimmy Butler played almost 43 minutes, for the record – the organization has handled Rose quite well in 2014. With a roughly 32-minute limit, Rose is averaging 17.5 points in 27.5 minutes per game, and he's played in exactly half of them, he and the medical staff erring on the side of caution when unsure.
After playing 32 minutes Monday on four full days rest, Rose's ankles might flare up again before Thursday's game at Toronto – the media didn't get a chance to ask him how he felt, as he left the postgame locker room before it opened to reporters, as he often does – but he appeared to be full speed Monday. Rose attacked early, sped down the floor in transition and, most importantly, made big plays late.
He scored eight points in the fourth quarter, including a tough left-handed scoop layup on the right side of the hoop under the outstretched arms of Greg Monroe, and also created a wide-open 3-pointer for Jimmy Butler by simply drawing a second defender and kicking it back out on a no-look pass.
"It's so much easier," Bulls forward Taj Gibson said of playing with Rose. "Like sometimes, you just need those easy buckets. It wears on you … when you're just going down and you have to figure out and try to get a tough bucket, especially when you're defended well. Sometimes it's not going to go your way. Those easy buckets Derrick gets, especially in transition and especially when he's real dominant late, it's real important for our team."
Even with all the injury drama, Rose has the full support of a locker room that knows how much he means to the team. The challenge for him is to find some sort of middle ground, to find a way to consistently contribute.
Rose formed his reputation and garnered his fame with his violent style, and it's been an awkward transition, frankly, to watch him search for a new balance. Timidly hemming and hawing on the floor, as he did last Wednesday in Milwaukee and as he often did with Team USA over the summer, that's not who Rose has ever been. It's why in the aftermath of the Bucks game, he lamented his ankles holding back his explosiveness. He's never just been another guy out there and can't stand the thought of being one.
With the disclaimer that it's only the eighth game of the season, Monday felt like a sort of middle ground for Rose. Ignore, for a second, his 24 points and instead focus on how he netted them.
Rose slashed when he created space, but he didn't dangerously toss his body around. He shot five free throws – including two when he got poked in the eye on a drive and two on a late foul with the game in hand. He used his speed to create a couple transition buckets and knocked down a pair of 3-pointers. He got a bucket on a traditional post-up on the block and used his size to back down the smaller D.J. Augustin for an easy 6-footer late. The mere threat of his driving ability got his teammates open looks.
There wasn't a single play from Rose that will be memorable, but it was everything the Bulls needed and hope for moving forward.
"It's run the team, play to your strengths, cover up your weaknesses," Thibodeau said of Rose's responsibility. "You got to do your job out there. I just want to see him put a string of games together."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.