It goes into how the rest of the Bulls felt along the way and how encouraging it was to see Rose get through his first full playoff game in 4 years.
We're finally seeing what our team can look like with [what looks like] a fully healthy Rose, so let's revel in it!
Here are a few quotes:
People focus most frequently on the micro or the macro.
It is either what Rose's chronic injuries and extended layoffs have meant to him and his MVP-certified career, or how they blunted Chicago's championship ambitions through most of Miami's Big Three era and perhaps beyond.
Falling in between, though, are teammates who have had to soldier on, facing and failing against the Heat or, last year, the Wizards. Gibson, Noah and the rest knew how undermanned they were in those postseasons, yet there was nothing to be gained from saying so.
So they did their best, took their lumps and wondered along with the rest of us whether Rose (and his doctors) ever were going to put it all together again.
That's why Rose's performance in beating Milwaukee in the East's Nos. 3-6 opener was special not just to those on the outside but especially to those on the Bulls' inner rings of recent hell.
Taj Gibson wrote:Man, I'm like y'all. When he get hit, I be like, 'Awww, man...' I was like, 'Lord, please, not again.' When he bounces up, I'm happy. But we've been through so many, like, scares, you never want to see anybody go through that kind of pain.
So whenever he gets a little hit, a little bump, of course you're gonna cringe. But I'm just happy he was able to get up and keep attacking.
[...]
I've been on this roller-coaster for a while now. Ups and downs. We went to the Eastern Conference finals that one year [2011]... to the heartbreak of the first knee injury. I was there.
[...]
So for [Rose] to come out here and play the way he played ... I told him I was proud of him. He did a great job. Didn't hold back anything. I know people have given him criticism for taking a lot of three's, taking a lot of long-range shots, being timid, not attacking the basket. He was doing it all. He was attacking the basket, taking his open looks. All those shots he took out there were great looks.
Mike Dunleavy wrote:Derrick's a pretty even-keel guy, but you could tell once he was on the court tonight, he was just happy to be back. Changing the story out there. It was fitting that he was out this long, and then to play so well and freely. He just seemed happy.
Joakim Noah wrote:It was great to see him moving like that. We know that he's gone through so much. When he's down, we're down. But when he's up ... you see what he does to this team. It's a great feeling to have him on the court. Always.
[...]
I just know he looked like he was having fun. To me, that's special. ... You can't take this game for granted.
These guys have been together for nearly 6 years -- here's to 6 more!
Full Article:
http://www.nba.com/2015/news/playoffs/04/19/rose-shines-in-first-playoff-appearance-since-2012/
