Derrick Rose's first NBA game in more than 18 months is barely in the books and already coach Tom Thidodeau is demanding more of his All-Star guard.
Thidodeau told ESPN on Monday he believes the 25-year-old Rose has the ability to one day make the NBA All-Defensive team. "His defense was a point of emphasis for him in training camp," said Thibodeau. "He's responded well to that challenge. We want him to be a complete player. I think he understands how important that is. I think he's grown in that area significantly in the last three year."
While indicating he feels he doesn't get enough credit for the level of defense he already plays, Rose let it be known last week that he was all in with his coach's thinking.
"I hope so," he said when asked if he's convinced he can be an All-Defensive team player. "But it's nothing that I can want that had. I just want people to look at my defense. I think guys really won't have like huge nights against me. So for me, I'm just trying to play team defense and stay within our team and just play as hard as I can."
As for Monday night's second preseason game against Memphis, Thibodeau said expect Rose's workload to remain roughly the same as it was against Indiana in Game 1, when he played six-to-eight minute segments totaling 20 minutes.
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