Rose Blooms in Return

The Chicago Bulls are a deep team, but it was evident they needed star Derrick Rose when they lost to the lowly Nets two days ago. Rose had missed five straight games with a nagging back injury. This afternoon he returned the court against the Atlanta Hawks. Rose scored 23 points and dished out six assists. He refrained from caution and could be seen pulling his usual showstopping crossovers and fearless drives to the hoop. Rose stated that "Today was just trying to play the way I normally play. Play aggressive." Play aggressive is what he did. Rose showed no signs of holding back.

While other Bulls players, such as Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer, are certainly capable of stepping up to help fill the void when Rose doesn't play, they are the first to tell you they absolutely need him to compete against the best. Noah, who had 16 rebounds in the win over the Hawks, told reporters, "We're not going anywhere without Derrick's play. It was good to have him out there. He looked pretty healthy out there. I'm sure he's sore. Taking two weeks off and coming back to play an NBA game is not something that is easy." Rose did struggle when it came to finishing and shooting, even simply free throws. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau agreed stating, "His explosion was there, his drives were there, but conditioning-wise, he was not where he normally is, but that's to be expected."

Rose returned and played fairly well, but the question becomes whether or not is he fully healthy. Should a player return before they are? In a shortened NBA season, is it wise to rest stars, like Rose, with nagging injuries, in order to get them healthy for the playoffs? The NBA is full of debate over questions such as these. I don't think you can give a definite answer to this, but I like what Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers had to say when asked about it. He shared, "An NBA player for the most part, the competitive ones, they don't want to sit. And it really upsets their rhythm. So you've got to be careful how you do it ... I think it's up to each individual player and each individual coach. Derrick Rose is a competitor. He wants to play as much as anybody. But is his health more important? We will have to wait and see. In the meanwhile, we should just enjoy watching Rose because he is something special.

If you haven't watched this Rose highlight video, you should check it out. Trust me it is worth your while: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOtxJrzp6ls.