Sorry, Derrick, We've Heard That One Before

Bulls star Derrick Rose

"If I'm healthy and the situation is right, I'm going to be back playing," Rose said Thursday during a news conference in his first public comments since tearing the meniscus in his right knee Nov. 22. "If I'm healthy and my meniscus is fully healed, of course I'll be out there playing. But if it's something totally different and the outcome is not how I would want it to be, there's no need."

Reference: Derrick Rose:  Going to be all right.

ESPN published this article and interview on December 6th, and my first reaction was, Here we go again.  Sorry, Derrick, we've heard that one before.

After the debacle of The Season That Never Was, I am not expecting Rose to return to the playoffs.  I am not ruling out, for myself in my own mind, him taking half the 2014-2015 season to fully recover and rehabilitate his meniscus surgery.  When he does return, I do not see him returning to his old self.  For his own long-term health, he ought not try to do so, in light of the fact that his body has given him several signals - injuries galore, over three years - that it can no longer take the explosive force and brutal punishment he subjects it to.

Of course I can be entirely wrong, and that's fine.  I'll believe it, when I see it.

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD