Derrick Rose vowed to prove his doubters wrong when he returns to action in the upcoming 2014-15 NBA season, including his own coach Tom Thibodeau.
Thibodeau said in a recent interview that Rose has yet to find his timing since returning to action following a second major knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.
The defensive-minded coach pointed out that Rose is way far from his top playing shape, pointing out that the 26-year-old point guard is still struggling in almost all areas of his game.
"His defense, that's got to be better,. He's got to get used to the contact again. His passing - everything. And this is preseason, you get to the regular season that's going to be different. Our rotations are a lot shorter. The game-planning's different. You can't fool yourself. You can't. You got to work at it," Thibodeau said via ESPN.
Reacting to Thibodeau's statement, Rose said that he is not bothered by it at all because he is ready to prove that he has already regain his old confidence when the new season starts later this month.
"Everybody has their own opinion. As a coach, I think his standards are going to be high, very high, just knowing who he is individually," Rose said via ESPN Chicago. "For the team, all we can do is come in here and get better every day, get the most out of every day and try to get better individually."
Rose, who has been playing competitive basketball over the past several months after also playing for Team USA in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, is showing great signs after averaging 15.5 points to go along with 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists in the last two preseason games.
"I think he's doing well," Bulls teammate Jimmy Butler said of Rose. "I think he's just letting the game come to him. And he's confident, I think that's one of the biggest things in this game, in this league. I think he still knows that he has a long way to go but he's on the right path and I think it's going to be great."
Rose and the Bulls will see action again on Thursday against the Atlanta Hawks at the United Center.
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