Oh my God! Derrick Rose actually scored career-high 50 points against the Utah Jazz? That is ridiculous and unbelievable. When humans dress up like zombies, zombies dress up like basketball players, right? The Timberwolves are the most unpredictable team in the league this year even when Butler is out of the roster. Of course, Rose won't be able to continue scoring 50 points every night but to see him put a performance like that was emotional and inspiring.
The Timberwolves came into the game without two starters, Butler and Teague, so people did not expect them to have a chance against the Jazz. However, coach Thibodeau allowed Derrick Rose to dress up for the Halloween night, and the former MVP chose to become himself 8 years ago before all the injuries. From the first minute of the game, Derrick Rose started driving to the basket, shooting jump shots, draining threes, and passing the ball to his open teammates. His highlights video is the definition of the American dream, I suppose. You keep trying, you keep failing, and eventually you come to the game and score 50 freaking points, including clutch shots in the final moments of the fourth quarter. And on top of that, Derrick Rose blocked the final shot of the game which could bring the Jazz to the overtime. If you don't love this, you don't love basketball.
What's even more impressive is that Derrick Rose managed to score his career-high against the Jazz, arguably the best defensive team in the NBA with Rudy Gobert inside the paint. For some reason, Rose was not afraid to attack Gobert, and it paid big time. I have watched the highlights for a couple of times already, and I can see the old good Derrick Rose in here. He was hot tonight.
On top of that, after the game, Derrick Rose said that he was also talking with his young teammates a lot during the game. Rose understands that he is the veteran in this team and he must show a great example of how to play at the highest level. We can all agree that he did more than that. He showed a great example to every single sports fan in the world how to never give up trying and how to believe in yourself. In the press conference, Rose said that many people did not understand that it was not about his confidence but more about the lack of opportunities. Tonight, Rose got his opportunity and capitalized big time on that.
In my opinion, this was the greatest performance by any player this year so far. Forget Curry and Thompson's threes, forget Jokic's perfect shooting game, and forget Griffin's 50 points against the Sixers. All those players are the leaders of their teams, and people expect them to shine. As for Derrick Rose, many experts and fans were laughing at him for years now. Also, many Wolves' fans were not happy to see Rose becoming a part of the team. Don't get me wrong; I understand why people were worried. However, this time I must say that the Wolves made a great decision to give Rose a chance. Sadly, the rest of their management's decisions are terrible, but let's not dwell on that tonight.
Naturally, Derrick Rose got very emotional after the game and could barely control himself during the postgame interview. It only shows how much Rose wanted this to happen and how much he tried to stay at the top level despite all the injuries and misfortunes.
It's hard not to get teary seeing Derrick Rose like that. I doubt that anyone in the world, including Derrick Rose, believed that he could ever score 50 points. I am sure that Rose had confidence but he also knew that he had numerous surgeries and minor injuries which made his body extremely fragile. That's one of the main issues for players like Derrick Rose, who rely on physical game, quickness, and aggressive drives to the basket. Those players are much more likely to get a serious injury during the game only because of their game style. I am a little afraid that Russell Westbrook's career might be heading south from this year because of all those injuries. Just like Derrick Rose in his prime, Westbrook relies on his explosive power and athletic abilities. Sadly, players lose a lot of their physical power with every severe injury and surgery. Let's just hope that Westbrook won't have to go through all that hell which followed Rose for the last 5 years.
It was so good to see Derrick Rose finally wearing his favorite Halloween costume tonight instead of the suit and tie which he used to wear for the last 5 years. I wanted to cry with him tonight. Let's just hope that it's not the last time when Rose gets a chance to do one of those postgame interviews.
How did you like Derrick Rose tonight? Do you believe that he still has what it takes to be a star in the NBA or was it his swansong?
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