Chicago Bulls star point guard Derrick Rose returned to the court Saturday night after missing the past 17 months while recovering from knee surgery, scoring 13 points in 20 minutes in an 82-76 victory against the Indiana Pacers in both teams’ preseason opener.
Rose, the 2010-11 league MVP, looked comfortable on the floor and happy to be back with his teammates as he displayed his trademark speed at various points throughout the game, including a breakaway dunk early in the third quarter.
“I’ve been preparing myself for this moment for a year and a half now,” Rose said after the game. “So just getting prepared for this and continue to go out there and know how blessed I am to be stepping back on the court again, especially with these guys that dedicated their whole summer to trying to make this team better. I’m fortunate to be on this team and blessed to be in this organization and playing for Thibs [coach Tom Thibodeau] and the coaching staff.”
The feeling is mutual within the Bulls organization. Thibodeau was pleased to see Rose back on the floor and was happy with the 25-year-old’s effort.
“It was good to have him back for sure,” Thibodeau said. “I think you see how he makes the game easier for everybody. And the speed with which he plays, you got to get accustomed to that, too. His teammates have to get used to it again. He has to get used to it. But overall I thought he played very, very well. Some rust, but that’s to be expected. But you could see as each minute went by he got more and more comfortable, and he ran the team great.”
Rose acknowledged throughout the week that he thought he’d have some rust, and he was right. He turned over the ball four times and seemed a little out of sync at times.
The good news for the Bulls is that Rose showed no hesitation while going to the rim. He attacked the basket the same way he did before the injury and didn’t back down when Pacers center Roy Hibbert stood in front.
