Bulls' Rose can only hope for fast return
Derrick Rose suggested his most recent knee injury could be a blessing in disguise.
Speaking to reporters before Monday's game at the United Center, Rose confirmed what some had suspected: His right knee wasn't feeling great for about a month leading up to the Feb. 27 arthroscopic surgery.
"I've probably been playing on it for a month," he said. "I remember feeling something in Golden State (on Jan. 27). Who knows? That could have been a sign telling me something was wrong. Who knows when it happened? It could have happened that game, previous game, who knows?"
There were some games when Rose started to look like his old self and others when he seemed reluctant or incapable of driving to the basket.
The former MVP had a loose part of the meniscus cartilage trimmed from his right knee and said he already could feel a difference. He had surgery to repair torn meniscus cartilage in the same knee on Nov. 25, 2013.
In theory, Rose might be moving better when he does return to the court. The Bulls set the timetable for recovery at four to six weeks, which would have him back on March 27 in the best case.
"I would say it does feel great. I would say just being able to walk and not feel that pinch anymore," he said. "I'm trying to take all this in. Like I said, this could be a blessing in disguise. Just trying to take my time, listen to my body, cheer on my teammates when I'm out, just try to better myself as a person, a basketball player, a businessman, and as a teammate."
Rose was asked a few times when he plans to return. Realistically, there's no way he can know the outcome of his rehab 11 days after the surgery.
The ideal scenario for the Bulls is to have Rose, Jimmy Butler (elbow sprain) and Taj Gibson (sprained ankle) back healthy before the regular season ends. And, of course, incur no other injuries until then.
"I just know when I step out there, I'm going to play the way I normally play, throw caution to the wind, play normal," Rose said. "I put a lot of work into my body.
"This time around I'll work on balance a little bit more. Last time I think I stopped doing that in the beginning stage. This time I think I'm going to do that a little more."
Thinking short-term:
When cartilage is removed, it generally increases the chance of arthritis either later in the athlete's career or in retirement. Derrick Rose said he didn't consider any potential long-term ramifications before the surgery.
"It's all about getting back on the court. It was something they had to take out," he said. "At the time I didn't really care and wasn't really worried about the future. I'm not thinking that far ahead. I just wanted it out, and to walk right, get to rehab right away.
"This was the only way, take it out, because it was blocking something in there."
Rose taking shots:
Well before Monday's game, Derrick Rose was shooting set shots on the floor at the United Center.
"Right now I can't jump," he said. "But I'm taking shots, getting in condition, just conditioning my legs, that's what I'm going through right now, my quads and my hamstrings. … Right now, they've got me doing a little bit of shooting and a whole bunch of squats."
This was Rose's third knee surgery in less than three years, but when asked if he's angry about his plight, the answer was no.
"There's nobody to be angry at," he said. "I think I put the most into all my workouts. I think I put the most into coming back, that's all I can do. I feel good with how hard I've been working. I feel good with how the team is. I feel good with how I'm handling everything.
"Like I said, just trying to stay positive."