Mike Krzyzewski chuckled Friday when the topic of Derrick Rose's "role" on Team USA came up. With Paul George out of commission because of a gruesome leg injury and Kevin Durant leaving the team, Rose is expected to have more offensive responsibilities for Team USA as it gets set to face off against the Brazil on Saturday night at the United Center. In Krzyzewski's mind, though, not much has changed as far as Rose's game goes. "Derrick's role is easy to play, easy to work [with]," the Hall of Fame coach said. "Just get the ball and be Derrick. And be Derrick for as long as you can." As Rose gets set to play in front of his hometown fans for the first time in nine months, the former NBA MVP admits that while his speed and explosion appear to be the same as ever, his game has changed a lot over the past year. "My game is totally different," Rose said. "When I came back last time, I was just trying to get in a groove. I think I felt a nice little groove. My confidence is high right now, and I think even playing in the game [Saturday] you'll be able to see by the way that I attack the players defensively. And by the way I play offensively, just not rushing anything and just taking my time on pick and rolls and just letting the play develop." Since Team USA camp opened over two weeks ago in Las Vegas, Rose has been open about the fact he was pressing during his initial comeback last season from a torn ACL in his left knee. Read more http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bulls/post/_/id/20128/derrick-rose-my-game-is-totally-different
My impression after watching his game w/ Brazil is that he didn't really know what to do with himself. Some bursts of brilliance, but he generally looked kinda awkward and not sure of what to do. A lot of dribbling the ball to the top of the key and then looking to hand it off to other players so they could do their thing. Personally, I'm using the All-Star break as the evaluation point for what we can expect of Derrick come playoffs.
My impression of what I've seen from Rose in his Team USA workouts, scrimmages and the Brazil exhibition is that it's just too early to conclude anything about Rose's recovery. Like last year in the Bulls' preseason games, his Team USA performances have shown me that he can run very fast and jump really high. I'm still looking for that stud basketball player.
Rose is healthy, but got another day of rest today John Schuhmann @johnschuhmann Derrick Rose did not participate in the full practice today. It's likely that he will not start vs. DOM tomorrow. John Schuhmann @johnschuhmann Rose is healthy, but got another day of rest today. Wants to play tomorrow, but Colangelo said he might not start, because of... John Schuhmann @johnschuhmann ... an assumed policy that if you don't practice the day before a game, you don't start.