Injury could be a Positive for Derrick Rose?
But the beauty in Derrick Rose not being able to ball (besides the Bulls being able to discover who they are as individuals without looking to him to bail them out) is how during this period of time in his life — for the first real amount of time in his life — he has been able to see the game, not just play it.
“I’ve been able to pick up players’ tendencies, see what certain players like and what they don’t like, see play calls that coaches call, see what works and what doesn’t,” Rose said. “As a point guard, I definitely need that. [Not playing,] I’ve been able to analyze the game instead of just playing and reacting to it.”
Twelve years ago, a similar thing happened to another player of supreme substance: Kobe Bryant.
Injured for the second time in his career (the first injury occurred the summer before his rookie year when he broke his wrist), Bryant had to sit out 15 games because of another broken wrist. During that time off, Bryant was able finally to see the game.
He came back a different player. A smarter, better player. He told me once that having the game taken away from him due to that injury may have been the best thing that ever happened to him. But it wasn’t until he got back on the court that he realized it.
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