While every Chicago Bulls fan and others around the league are anxiously waiting for Derrick Rose to return this season, one star thinks he shouldn’t. We’re slowly approaching a year since Derrick Rose went down with a torn ACL during the first round of the NBA playoffs. Now with the playoffs approaching yet again and the Bulls doing surprisingly well, many are expectant of Rose to come back and help put them over the top. Every athlete heals differently however so while Ricky Rubio and Iman Shumpert have come back, Rose may not be ready and Wall thinks he should take his time. Read more after the jump.
Washington Wizards guard John Wall, who missed more than two months with a knee injury, believes Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose would be better off sitting out the rest of the season as he recovers from May 12 ACL surgery.
“I think the organization and the team understands how hard [Rose plays] and what he does for the city and the team, how hard he works and what he wants to bring back to that city,” said Wall, whose Wizards defeated the Bulls 90-86 Tuesday night. “So I think [based off] what he has already done, they would understand if he didn’t come back.
“I feel like [if] I were in the situation I wouldn’t really [come back this year] because you don’t have enough time to get into a rhythm. Then you get to the playoffs, D-Rose wouldn’t be good for that team just playing 20 minutes a game. They’re already a good team and good defensively, but to be even better he would have to play more minutes.”
Rose recently said he wouldn’t rule out coming back for the playoffs rather than playing in the few games that are left. The problem is there’s no guarantee that he’ll find his rhythm immediately upon return. In fact odds are that he won’t and will instead mess with the chemistry the team has built up in his absence. He also has to build back confidence in his knee. Rose is a high volume player and much of his strength is his ability to go hard to basket and his speed along with his shooting ability.
“I think he’s doing it the best way you should,” Wall said. “Take your time and feel like you’re fully healthy. That’s the one thing, with him coming back, he’s kind of the same way I am — you want to give 110 percent. You know no other way but to play hard. With that type of injury you’ve got to take your time and make sure you feel comfortable with it.
“You don’t want to come back and try to go score 30 or 40 and you don’t have that same kind of confidence and putting more pressure on yourself. I feel like he’s doing the right thing and when the time is right he’s going to come back.”
