DRose discusses various topic on media day in Chicago.
Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose says he is “way more confident” and is ready to add an NBA championship to his resume this season.
The 24-year-old sat out the entire season last year as he recovered from surgery to repair a torn ACL, but revealed at media day on Friday that he is excited by the prospect of returning to the court.
Rose received criticism in the latter stages of last season as despite receiving medical clearance to play he opted against risking re-injuring himself as he still didn’t feel mentally right about making his comeback.
However, that appears to be in the past for both the player and the media as we move closer to the new campaign, and Rose is predicting good things for the Bulls.
“The thing that drives me is just winning the championship,” Rose said Friday at Bulls media day as reported by ESPN.
“That’s the only thing on my résumé that I’m missing. This is a great time to do it where everybody is watching. It’s the biggest stage you could possibly play on. My team-mates are preparing themselves for a big year, and I am too. It should be a crazy, magical year where I think there’s going to be a lot of people watching. It should be exciting to the Bulls fans.”
While Rose will join his team-mates in practice over the course of the next week or so, he is expected to finally make his return to action on October 5 in a pre-season game against the Indiana Pacers.
Coach Tom Thibodeau hinted that he will probably restrict his minutes along with the other starters, but Rose has insisted that fans will see an improved point guard as he has spent the summer learning about improving his balance and different parts of his body.
Despite admitting that he didn’t return in the playoffs last season because he didn’t feel he could handle a double team, Rose now says he is even more confident about his game than he was before his injury.
Along with a roster that finished as fifth seed in the Eastern Conference without him last year, the noises coming out of Chicago are optimistic.
“I think we’ve got the right pieces,” Rose said. “Everybody that’s coming in, it seems like they’ve got their head on right. You have guys that’s been here the whole summer, just improving their games, trying to make the team better. That’s all you can ask for when you’re dealing with grown men,” he added.
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