New York Knicks Derrick Rose Happy To Be Back

New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose is happy to be returning to the team and court after his civil suit lasted mulitple weeks.

The New York Knicks got their point guard back this week. Derrick Rose has spent the last couple of weeks in California as he and two friends were in a civil suit alleging they had raped a woman. They were found not liable in the civil lawsuit, so he can get refocused on basketball, and that is all he really wants to do.

This is the first time that Rose is with the Knicks since October 4th. That was the date for their first preseason game, but he has been in Los Angeles since then. It was an important issue for him to take care of, as Rose and his two friends were being sued for $21.5 million dollars.

"“The issue was a huge issue. I took it very serious,” Rose said after Saturday’s practice. “I’m a grown man. I put myself in this situation and I had to get myself out. I was focused the entire time.“Out of all of this, the only thing that really hurt me was missing my son’s birthday party, missing his birthday. Those were the two things that I was worried about the most. Not being there with my family … it hurt. And being there for my son. That was the only thing.”"

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Rose is glad to have this issue behind him, as he can now concentrate on things with the Knicks on the court. Rose is about to start his first season with the Knicks after spending his entire career previously with the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls selected Rose No.1 overall in 2008 and is looking forward to the new start with the Knicks. He feels motivated and excited about the opportunity, saying it is ‘like heaven’ to be back on the basketball court.

He is ready to get things going as he can finally put the civil suit behind him.

"“It would change anyone,” Rose said of the civil lawsuit. “But I spoke on it and this is all behind me now. The only thing I can focus on is worrying about the future. I love being around my teammates. I love the way that we are coming together as a team.”"

The focus will now turn to the court for Rose. The Knicks have to catch him up to speed, as he missed the final five preseason games and numerous practices. Rose admitted earlier in training camp that the triangle offense was difficult to pick up, so missing all of that time to learn won’t help.

But, Jeff Hornacek said that Rose looks to be in good physical shape and picked up team’s schemes without much trouble. Hornacek said that Rose did his homework, which is encouraging to hear.

The next step is figuring out if Rose can handle starters minutes. There is only so much you can do to get into game shape without actually playing in games. Scrimmages will help, but there isn’t anything to simulate true game action.

"“He looks in pretty good shape,” Hornacek said. “It may be a situation where we put him in. If he looks like he’s tired, we’ll get him out and then get him back quickly. Maybe the rotation is a little different as he first comes back.”"

The Knicks will surely have a plan in place when they face off with the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers to begin their season Tuesday. Rose will have his hands full with Kyrie Irving, but Rose is confident in his own abilities.

"“I’m very confident, man,” Rose said. “I really believe this why I’m here, to hoop. I still have a lot of confidence in my ability. The confidence never left. If anything [the trial] made me focus a little more, like having time to myself in the gym and just working on things that I think I need to work on.“We didn’t make the playoffs last year. I’m still chasing something right now. I just want to hoop and just let my game speak for itself.”"

Next: New York Knicks Takeaways From Preseason

Returning to the playoffs would be nice to see for the Knicks, who haven’t made it since the 2012-13 season. Rose is certainly right about why Phil Jackson brought him to town, as he hopes to help turn around a struggling organization.

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