Derrick Rose recently let the world know he’s ready to return to action. During an interview in Madrid last week he said he’s “100 percent.”
However, we want to see some proof. So, the next logic step on the road to restoring faith in D-Rose will be watching him—and the ACL—in action.
Some footage released recently of Rose in Spain may be able to provide us a bit of comfort, according to NBA.com.
In the video, the 2011 MVP takes one dribble about 15 feet from the basket and proceeds to throw down a through-the-legs jam. Nice.
Is it an eight-foot hoop? Yea. But its more than the endless footage of baby dunks and jump shooting we saw when Rose was “cleared to play.”
So here’s the good news and bad news.
The bad news—this dunk really isn’t that big of a deal. It’s on an eight foot hoop and Rose is about six 6’3”.
The good news—As Yahoo! Sports’ Dan Devine points out “He jumped of his left foot!” This could be a huge step mentally for Rose. Judging by his comments earlier this year, this could mean he’s growing more comfortable using the leg. (Rose said he would not come back until he was comfortable leaping off that left leg.)
Rose has already told us he is growing stronger in the mental aspect of his game so hopefully this is at least the slightest bit of evidence.
"(Mentally) I'm just strong as I've been," Rose told a Madrid reporter according to Hoops Hype. "I had the time to think about what's important in my life, getting better on the court, watching a lot of film with (coach Tom Thibodeau), asking him questions, talking to him about two times a week... So he's been kind of a professor to me."
Thibodeau expects Rose to play in the first game of the season. The all-star point guard was in Madrid as part of a promotion for Adidas.
