Derrick Rose, the former league MVP who missed the entire 2012-13 NBA season, returned to the Chicago Bulls line-up last October 5 in a preseason game against the Indiana Pacers, leading his team to a 82-76 victory.
The Bulls franchise player scored 13 points in 20 minutes and looked healthy playing point guard for the team, which surprised many observers when it upset the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs and then gave the eventual champions Miami Heat a scare in the second round before falling, four games to one.
As ESPN.com reports, Rose, who was sidelined by a knee injury he got during the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs, looked comfortable on the floor. The cat-quick Rose showed that he still has the moves and quickness to run rings around his defenders after more than 500 days of missing basketball.
Rose still has the same ferociousness when attacking the ring, going right into the defense of Pacers big man Roy Hibbert in the first minutes. He also had a breakaway dunk in the third quarter. There were times when he looked rusty, though, especially when he committed four turnovers.
The much-anticipated return of Rose was a lingering issue during the Bulls' playoff run last year. The All-Star point guard said he was shutting himself down in the playoffs despite the Bulls suprising the Nets and giving the Heat a good fight in the second round. Many fans at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis cheered him on when he was introduced, and clapped widly the first time he touched the ball. He left the game with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter.
© Thomson Reuters. All Rights Reserved
