Lucky 13?

I'll try not to turn this blog into a constant Derrick Rose watch, but considering how 1) this media coverage is justified and 2) I didn't get to watch the Bulls' first two preseason games, this is how it's going to be right now.

As the Bulls prepare to face the Washington Wizards in Rio de Janeiro, all eyes will undoubtedly remain on Rose.  After all, he's not only continuing his comeback, but visiting the place where he's likely to help the U.S. defend its gold medal at the 2016 Olympics.  What's more, one of the NBA's top stars is more or less serving as an unofficial ambassador to the league since he's bigger than everyone else on the two rosters combined.

Likely to be overlooked during all this hoopla is how Rose has fared in the preseason to this point.  In both games, victories over the Pacers and Grizzlies, he has scored exactly 13 points in a time limit posed by Tom Thibodeau.  Playing no more than slightly half of each game, 13 points is a pretty good contribution for anyone else in the league, especially if that player is coming off the bench.  And although this is Derrick Rose, what's he's done so far is all we can ask for.

It could be argued that this preseason is the final step in completing Rose's long rehab.  Since none of this counts toward what this season will ultimately be remembered as, they could be called glorified pickup games with stops in non-NBA cities in between.  That considered, I'll take 13 points per game.  They're a good stepping stone for when it's time to drop 30 or more on an unsuspecting opponent.  Opponents can plan around the point guard all they want, but this is the guy who recently said he would go full blast against his own mother to win a game.  Though LeBron James hasn't said anything about it of late, he recognizes Rose as an obstacle in winning a third straight title.

Rose is merely buying his time until the stakes really mean something.  We've seen a couple of highlight-worthy plays from him, though nothing overly exciting.  Before long though, he'll routinely be cracking SportsCenter's Top 10 and accumulating thousands of hits on YouTube.  No one can complain how he and Thibodeau are treating this as a warmup to what's on the horizon.  Every other player in the league is doing the same, but with Rose returning from a serious injury, this is as magnified as could be.  Everyone is watching, so the former MVP and his coach need to manage the situation much better than the Bulls did last spring after Rose was cleared to play, but didn't suit up.

13 points is okay by average NBA standards, but I'm willing to give up a pass to a recently banged-up superstar.  Maybe he'll get close to 20 on Saturday, which would really give the Brazilian crowd a treat.  Until then, let him and the rest of his team enjoy the mid-80s temperatures that have moved away from Chicago.  Warming up in South America?  That's where many of us would like to be now.