Derrick Rose: Is He Ready?

Getting away from the Hawks and focusing on the other team that shares the United Center, the Bulls have started their training camp and of course, questions about Derrick Rose have once again come up. Rose missed all of last season and drew serious criticism from fans when he was seen playing on the court and yet he did not play a single game, even when they needed him. Naturally, most of this criticism called his dedication into question.

Rose himself said on Bulls media day that he's ready. "The thing that drives me is just winning the championship," he said as quoted by ESPN.com. Rose has said that his refusal to play was because even though he knew he could handle man-on-man coverage, it was the double-team that made him sit out. 

Rose's impact on the court is undeniable. With him, the Bulls were top-seeded in the playoffs in 2012, but there was a mean crash and burn once he injured his knee. He is also the youngest player ever to win the MVP award. Sadly, he has not been able to get over the Conference Finals hurdle. The closest he got was two years ago against the Heat, which the Bulls lost 4-1 after a dominating Game 1.

When asked about the negative criticism, Rose said this, as quoted by ESPN.com: "As a fan, of course I would want my favorite player to be out there. At the same time, the way I look at it, I had to be selfish. ... The thought of me going out and injuring myself again ... I did not want to put myself in that position, and I just tried to stay far away from that and just think everything through and try to stay positive." So his position on the criticism is clear. He understands it, but he's not going to let it get to him. That's a pretty good attitude, if you ask me.

Tom Thibodeau has also responded to the criticism, saying that Rose is loyal to the organization and only sat out because he felt he wasn't 100%. He also mentioned it was owner Jerry Reinsdorf's orders to be cautious about the situation and Thibs followed it as best he could.

Rose has watched the video of his injury at least 20 or 30 times and has said that he should be more balanced now than in the past. From that comment, I'm drawing the conclusion that he thinks he landed wrong, which helped lead to the injury.

What I want to see out of Rose is a better version of his old self. Right now, with the Heat looking for a third-straight NBA title and the Hawks looking like the city's new winter pastime, the Bulls are sitting in an uncomfortable situation. D-Rose will have to play his best and his supporting cast will have to do the same. Do I think he's ready? Yes or no? What do you think?