Friday will mark four weeks since Derrick Rose underwent surgery to remove to the damaged portion of the torn medial meniscus in his right knee. After the procedure, the Chicago Bulls laid out a four-to-six-week timetable for their former MVP point guard's return to the court. Rose himself, however, was a bit less definitive on the timeline, saying he would "listen to [his] body" as he rehabbed and that, while he's aiming for a regular-season return, he would come back only when he felt right.
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As the Bulls prepared for a Wednesday meeting with the Toronto Raptors that has significant implications in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, Rose chatted with K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune to offer an update on what his body's telling him and whether the team's timetable still seems viable:
Derrick Rose said he expects to be cleared for contact either this week or next and remains confident he'll return from arthroscopic right knee surgery this season.
"Oh yeah, I’m not worried about that," Rose said. "I’m feeling good. I’m trying to do all the right things. Put all the positives in the bag and just try to go with it. It’s something that I’ve been doing for a long time. Rehab is definitely a grind. But I’m getting used to it." [...]
"Should be sometime this week or next week," Rose said when asked about taking contact. "Gotta talk to (Director of Sports Performance) Jen (Swanson) and go from there."
Rose told Johnson he doesn't "have any pain" in the surgically repaired right knee, which he said two weeks ago had been bothering him since as far back as Chicago's road win over the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 27. That's a great start, and progressing through contact in practice would represent another pivotal step in getting the 26-year-old Rose back on the floor after rehabilitating from his third knee surgery in the last three years.
You'd understand if Bulls fans remain uncertain that such clearance will necessarily be followed by an immediate return to action, of course, after the contentious back-and-forth associated with what looked to be a similar set of circumstances back in the spring of 2013. Those circumstances might not be quite so similar, though.
Back then, Rose was coming off the devastating tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, a much more serious and career-altering injury with a far lengthier recovery period that also represented Rose's initial foray into the grueling and intense work of rehabilitation. While it's not exactly wonderful news that he's gotten a lot more experience in that regard, it does offer a bit of a silver lining here; Rose knew what he was getting into when he started his rehab immediately after surgery, and he's been uniformly positive and consistent in expressing his belief that he'll play again this season ... even if it might take him a little bit of time to reintegrate himself into the Bulls' rotation.
"I’m a pro," Rose said, according to Johnson. "I think I’m good enough to fit my way in."
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The Bulls are banking on it, and hoping that he'll be able to follow in the footsteps of Jimmy Butler, who chipped in 19 points and nine rebounds on Monday in his return to the lineup after missing 11 games with a sprained right elbow, and Taj Gibson, who's shooting 60 percent from the floor since his return from a sprained left ankle.
If the Bulls can experience the same success in folding Rose back into the lineup while continuing to run the offense through All-Star center Pau Gasol and giving power forward Nikola Mirotic opportunities to keep his strong recent play going, Chicago could find itself with both its healthiest roster since opening night and a more widely varied collection of available offensive talents than at any point in Tom Thibodeau's tenure.
If that lineup — anchored, we hope, by defensive game-changer/point-center Joakim Noah, whose minutes have been limited and who missed Monday's win with "general soreness" — can actually get, and stay, on the floor together, we'd be hard-pressed to argue much with Noah's assertion that the Bulls might be "the toughest team to beat in a seven-game series." (In the East, at least. I mean, have you seen the Warriors?) As always, however, that's just about entirely predicated on Rose getting back.
Even if he can't return to the thunderbolt form of 2011, his ability to demand defensive attention, shift coverages, create shots and make plays at the point seems like the difference between Chicago being a tough out and becoming a true title contender. There's an awful lot, then, riding on Derrick Rose's right knee. It's a good thing he's not feeling any pain in it.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
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