When the news dropped this summer about Derrick Rose making his move to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the NBA world responded with excitement, criticism, and everything in between. There was a lot of talk around how viable of an option Rose will be down the stretch of a long regular season, and it seems the Cavs have taken this sentiment into consideration.
So far this season, Rose has been limited to around 25 – 31 minutes per game. He missed a week of competition from 10/21 to 10/28, but he seems hopeful to be back making effective contributions to the Cavs offense.
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“Let me say, for one, I’m just happy to be a part of this team, part of something that I think is special,” Rose admitted to ESPN. “A minute restriction, there’s nothing I can do about that. But with me having all these injuries in my past, I’m kind of used to it. But whatever the team sees and the staff sees and they want me to do, that’s what I’m going to cooperate with and just go about it the right way.”
“Knowing that I never played in June, just trying to be cautious with everything around the board,” Rose continued.
Caution is definitely the best course of action for Rose, and many speculate the Cavs will make their fourth straight NBA finals appearance this year, especially considering LeBron James has said he feels better than ever in his career.
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“My ankle still isn’t there yet, so the second half it was getting stiff,” Rose added. “But I feel like I’m putting it together, quarter by quarter. Second half, I got to figure out a way to get my ankle back to, I don’t know, just make it a little more [pliable]. Warm it up a little or something. In the second half, I was obviously kind of stiff out there, but I believe in my teammates, and that’s one of the reasons why I came here. We got a hell of a group.”
Once Isaiah Thomas makes his anticipated return to the court, the minute sharing will become more fitting for Rose. Who knows, he could be a dark horse candidate for 6th Man of the Year.