Rose out to prove himself

Chicago Bulls guard and recent Manila visitor Derrick Rose has a lot of proving and explaining to do when the NBA season begins on Oct. 29. He sat out all of the last campaign recovering from ACL surgery in his left knee while bankrolling $16.4 million without playing a single game. It doesn’t usually take that long to come back from an ACL operation but Rose took his sweet time rehabbing, resting and relaxing.

The Bulls haven’t won an NBA title since 1998, signalling the end of the Michael Jordan in Chicago. Rose was touted to be Jordan’s second coming. He took MVP honors once but there’s still no championship ring in his finger. Jordan has six with Chicago.

When Rose was in Manila last weekend, he declared himself 100 percent ready to get back to work on the court. His absence last season has clearly diminished his popularity. LeBron James filled up the Mall of Asia Arena during his recent visit. In contrast, thousands of empty seats welcomed Rose at the Smart Araneta Coliseum for his appearance. There just wasn’t the same magical connection that James enjoyed with the fans. Maybe, it was the lack of spontaneity with the overload of three hosts for the event as they read questions from cue cards. Maybe, it was Rose’s inability to say the right things. He kept flashing the V sign and pointing an index finger to his audience. Maybe, it was his low-key personality.

Chicago makes its NBA season debut against defending champion Miami on the road on Oct. 29 with Rose back in harness. It’ll be a big test for the Bulls who made it to the second round of the playoffs before bowing to Miami in five. Chicago was No. 5 in the Eastern Conference with a 45-37 record and managed to upset No. 4 Brooklyn by beating the Nets, 99-93, in the Game 7 clincher at Barclays Center. It was tough enough to survive without Rose, it was tougher to oust the Nets in Brooklyn. But defense-oriented coach Tom Thibodeau worked wonders.

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The turning point was Chicago’s 143-134 triple overtime victory over the Nets in Game 4 that opened a 3-1 series advantage after Brooklyn drew first blood in the opener. The thriller took a toll on Chicago, particularly on guard Kirk Hinrich who logged 60 minutes in the marathon then sat out the next eight playoff games with a calf injury. Thibodeau did a masterful job juggling his players to compensate for the injuries. But against the Heat, the Bulls were bowled over.

The burden is on Rose to show the way for Chicago. This season, the Bulls won’t bring back Nate Robinson (to Denver), Marco Belinelli (to San Antonio) and Rip Hamilton (possibly to oblivion). Thibodeau will return Rose at point guard with Jimmy Butler at the two-spot, Luol Deng at three, Carlos Boozer at four and Joakim Noah at five. Deng, 28, had a spinal problem last season and is in the final year of his contract. To cover for Belinelli, Thibodeau picked up bomber Mike Dunleavy Jr. Reserves in the roster include Taj Gibson, Hinrich and rookies Tony Sneed and Erik Murphy. Sneed, a first round draft pick, is a 6-7 forward with an 83-inch wingspan. But while his length is a major asset, his rail-thin frame is a liability. Sneed weighs only 200 pounds and he’ll be definitely outmuscled at his position by bigger forwards. Murphy, a 6-10 power forward, is a three-point shooter in the Matt Bonner mold.

“I should be able to play in the first game of the season,” said the 24-year-old Rose who is lined up to clear $68 million in the next four seasons up to 2016-17. “I know I’m anxious right now to play. My health is everything. It’s 100 percent.”

Fans expected Rose to come back in time for last season’s playoffs after tearing his ligament in a playoff game against Philadelphia on April 28, 2012. He underwent surgery two weeks later and what should’ve been only six months of therapy and recovery extended to 18.

Last March, doctors reportedly cleared Rose to play but there was no comeback during the season, causing displeasure among Chicago fans. Bulls vice president John Paxson explained Rose would’ve played if he was mentally and physically ready. Paxson said the reality was Rose wasn’t ready.

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“An argument can be made that no professional athlete puts his body through the type of strain Rose endured during his first four NBA seasons,” wrote Mike McGraw. “His game was filled with acrobatic, high-difficulty, high-speed drives through taller and heavier players. Even before the injury, it was apparent he wouldn’t be able to sustain that style of play. Besides getting his knee healing, Rose also had to reevaluate his game during the time off.”

No two players’ bodies are alike but on the same day that Rose went down, New York Knicks forward Iman Shumpert suffered the same injury. Shumpert was back in uniform on Jan. 17 this year. Fans wondered if Rose’s prolonged layoff had anything to do with threshold of pain or lack of mental fortitude.

“Having a new start, I think, is definitely going to help my confidence, knowing that everybody is going to be watching me play since I’ve been out a year,” said Rose who averaged 21.8 points and 7.8 assists in 39 games during the lockout season. “And you’re going to have people out there wanting to criticize my game so I have to be prepared. I’m ready for it. Of course, there’s going to be pressure but I love playing with pressure. It makes me key in, focus in on the things I really need to focus in on and that’s becoming a better player and winning games and proving people wrong.”