Derrick Rose has enough experience rehabbing knee injuries to last a lifetime. One of the bright spots about this latest attempt to return from knee injury, is that Rose remains humbled by what it has taken to get back on the floor.
When asked after Monday’s shootaround what the past six weeks were like after having a meniscectomy on Feb. 27, his third knee surgery in three years, Rose didn’t mince words.
“Hell,” Rose said. “Hell, because you got to do rehab over again. Waking up at 7:30 every day, being there before practice, two hours before practice, beating everybody to the training room. When you arrive to the city, you have damn near two or three workouts every day. So the game, that’s kind of easy for sure.”
Rose repeatedly has referenced how happy he is to be back on the floor — while referencing the fact that he hasn’t played in a postseason game since April 30, 2012, the day he tore his ACL in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Philadelphia 76ers.
“It will be fun,” Rose said. “But at the same time, I’m just happy to be playing the game. I’m just happy to be on the floor. This is my life, I dedicated so much to this sport. … I’m happy where it took not only me, but my family and friends. And I’m just appreciative right now.”
He also address the mindset that mindset that he has to have to ensure that he can continue to play at a high level, and not end up like Penny Hardaway or Grant Hill.
“I haven’t heard it myself, but to think about just knowing that I had injuries and knowing what they had in the past, I could see how they could compare,” Rose said. “But my job is to just go out there and prepare myself, my body, for every game.
“I still think I got a lot in me left. I think I’m smart enough to play the game without overusing myself. So it’s an honor to be in that group, but I think I got a lot more in my tank.”