Oct 30, 2013 03:43 PM EDT
Chicago Bulls Rumors: Derrick Rose Blames Miami Heat Defense Not Knee for NBA Opening Night Struggles, Joakim Noah Confident PG Improves in Each Game

The opening night of the NBA marked the return of Derrick Rose, but things did not go exactly as planned for the point guard. After sitting out an entire season, the Chicago Bulls star was met with the suffocating defense of the Miami Heat, spoiling his highly anticipated debut back on the court. While Rose says his knee feels absolutely fine, he admits rust got the best of him.

Rose looked strong in the first few minutes of the game, but slowed down as the Heat took control of the court. The point guard finished with 12 points and just four assists while committing five turnovers. He was just 1 for 7 from behind the arc. Rose promises that his struggles were not due to any lingering pain issues with his knee, but more of his own shooting issues that just simply got the best of him.

"I don't think it was rust," Rose said, via the Chicago Tribune. "It was just me missing shots. I've had worse shooting nights than this. If anything, I'm going to have amnesia about it and we play in two days."

In the preseason Rose appeared to be a stronger shooter from behind the arc. He shot 40 percent from the 3-point line during preseason play, but only managed to make one shot on opening night. Rose took decent shots throughout the game, but the Heat spent most of the night double-teaming the point guard, limiting his success. Joakim Noah notes Miami achieved their goal of taking the point guard out of the game.

"They did a good job of trapping Derrick, getting the ball out of his hands," Noah said. "But if they put two on the ball like that, we have to make them pay. It's on all of us."

The night was the debut of the Bulls new lineup consisting of Rose, Noah, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Jimmy Butler. As a whole, they failed. The team totaled up 18 turnovers, giving up 107 points to Miami. The Heat shot 51 percent from the floor and 55 percent from beyond the arc. That type of defense will leave Chicago on the outside looking in if improvement is not met. It is only the first game of the season and it is very safe to assume that Rose only gets better with each game he plays. His teammates have nothing but confidence in his abilities going forward.

"This was the toughest team he could have come back against," Deng said. "But I've seen Derrick at his best, and I know he's better than he was. His work ethic is better. His belief in himself and in his teammates is better."

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