Why Mike Conley knows what Derrick Rose is going through
CHICAGO – For all of Derrick Rose’s injury history, he is loath to talk about his surgeries or reveal how much they affect him.
He’ll speak at length about his teammates or praise emerging two-way star Jimmy Butler. He has no interest, however, in divulging just how difficult it has been since he caught an errant elbow in preseason practice on September 29 and fractured his left orbital.
“I don’t even want to talk about that,” Rose said recently of his vision. “It’s still not there.”
Rose is reticent to use his blurred vision as an excuse, but his silence lends to the perception that it’s a non-issue.
Rose’s critics (and they are a loyal legion) chide him for his inefficiency. His field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and FT rate are all career lows yet he’s still taking more than 14 shots per game. He’s also shooting 42% inside of five feet, down from 54%on those same shots last year.
He played three weeks after undergoing facial fracture surgery and wore a mask for the first 18 games of the season, finally abandoning it at halftime of the Dec. 11 game vs. the Clippers. Throughout that time the Bulls were the 27th worst offensive team in the league, and their pace-and-space offense, predicated on Rose’s transition ability, couldn’t have looked more disjointed. But if he’s playing with one eye closed, as he claimed to do earlier this year, or seeing multiple baskets, what can reasonably be expected of him?
If anyone can relate to Rose’s condition it’s Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley, who suffered a nearly identical orbital fracture in April during Memphis’ postseason run. In Chicago to face the Bulls this week, Conley spoke to Paste BN exclusively and said he’s still battling the effects of C.J. McCollum’s elbow from eight months ago.
“Still can’t feel my face in certain parts. It’s still numb. Having some symptoms, like when I touch different areas I feel nerves come on behind my eyeball. It’s weird,” Conley said. “Any injury (like that) can mess with your head, can mess with your confidence, mess with your mentality when you come out.”
Rose said at the beginning of the season that the most difficult part was remaining immobilized in his downtown condominium, unable to take part in learning Fred Hoiberg’s new offense. That lasted for two weeks. Conley missed three games following his fracture and subsequent surgery.
“It’s really hard to be going 100 miles per hour and all the sudden have to stop doing everything, being laid up in a bed, not being able to move,” Conley said. “It’s very hard to prepare for something like that.”
Despite their offensive shortcomings, things might be starting to turn for the Bulls (15-8), who’ve won four in a row. When the Grizzlies and Bulls met recently, Conley tried to contain Rose, but Rose beat him off the dribble and attacked the lane with his vintage athleticism. He was 9-of-19 from the field for 19 points with all but one of his makes coming from inside the paint.
While certain nights Rose evokes memories of his 2010-11 MVP season, Hoiberg cautioned in mid-November that he could be dealing with blurred vision for up to three months. As Conley will attest, there can be lingering issues. That didn’t dampen the excitement for Rose’s biggest locker room supporter.
“I thought (the game against Memphis) was probably our best game as a team,” Bulls forward Joakim Noah said. “I thought the energy was good, and it starts with Derrick pushing the ball. I’m just happy that he was going to the hole aggressively. … It was a great way to shut up his critics a little bit because a lot of people have things to say about him all the time.”
Noah is correct in that there is no shortage of opinions concerning the former league MVP. Either Rose isn’t racing the ball up the floor quickly enough or his shot selection is off or he vanishes in the middle of offensive sets. Or maybe it’s that he’s simply playing through an injury, unfazed by the swarm of opinions.
“I’m going to play my game. My game is whatever they give me,” Rose said in response to a question of whether he should attack more. “I’m going to play the way that I want to play, not the way that people want me to play.”