Derrick Rose Just Isn't The Same...For All The Right Reasons

It was exactly what the Chicago Bulls had lacked all last season. It was the problem that they could not find a solution for on a consistent basis. It was the issue that cost the Bulls a handful of wins simply because they had no one to fill the role. That role was the role of a finisher. A guy who you could give the ball to with five minutes to go in a close game and say "Here. Take us home." And while last night's game didn't go exactly as the Bulls would have liked, former MVP Derrick Rose proved that when it came time to close out a game, he was one of the best in the business.

The floater said it all: DRose is back

With Rose's baseline floater over Raymond Felton and former Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler, the Bulls snagged their first win of the season on Rose's regular season Homecoming to the United Center. Yet the floater itself, though as pretty as it was, doesn't quite do Derrick Rose's comeback to basketball justice. Everyone has noticed that his game is coming back to him and coming back quickly. He's just as quick (if not quicker), his shot has improved, and his work ethic is as noticeable as ever.

However, his overall performance and athleticism is something that fans and players expected to eventually change for the better. What people have not seemed to notice is how Derrick Rose's attitude as a whole has changed for the better. After hitting that floater on the night of Halloween, Rose was quoted saying "If I'm going to miss the shot, I'm going to miss it. If I'm going to hit it, I'm going to hit it. I just love taking it." Love him or hate him, you have to admire his confidence.

That's exactly what has changed since he suffered the infamous knee injury over a year and a half ago. Coming into the league as the number one draft pick, the native son of Chicago, and the 19 year old kid who was the first piece of the puzzle in raising a seventh banner into the rafters of the Madhouse, Derrick Rose had the weight of an entire city on his shoulders. And he knew it. Through the first two or three years of his career we saw Rose shy away from the media and keep a low profile. He even admitted to not being a fan of the media simply because he didn't want the attention. God only knows what life for him was like knowing that every eye in Chicago was on him, and continues to be.

But then came the MVP season. DRose quickly established himself as one of the best in the league by being the youngest player to ever accomplish the feat. Just as the expectations grew and began to become realistic, Rose fell to the ground on the baseline during game one of the first round in 2012. The city was deflated and Rose went unheard of until he sent out a video on YouTube during his recovery phase.

Rose was emotional at the release of his new shoe last year

Amidst all of the physical therapy and work outs, Rose released a new shoe through Adidas. Even though he wasn't on the court, the hype was through the roof simply because Rose was once again in the public eye. Yet it was at the release of his shoe that we saw the human aspect of the All-Star point guard. While being interviewed, he visibly teared up saying how thankful he was for the support and continually emphasizing that he felt he didn't deserve all of it. That's the humble Derrick Rose that Chicago fell in love with. The kid who grew up in the same city he now plays for was taking the time to appreciate those that were pulling for him. In the days of guys like Dwight Howard, who could care less about loyalty, Rose was showing his appreciation for his fans, and meaning every word of it.

Now let's fast forward the clocks to these past few weeks. Derrick Rose is back. He's healthier than ever. He's quick as hell and is on a mission. Somewhere along the line, the old Derrick Rose vanished and we are now witnessing a drastic change in attitude. The once quiet kid has now become a demonstrative man. It shows in his answers to reporters' questions, it shows in how he conducts himself on the court, and it shows in how he speaks about the improvements he has made. Derrick Rose is no longer going to shy away from the media, rather he's begging everyone to watch what he does. Rose wants your attention, he wants you to criticize him, and he wants you to doubt him and his teammates.

All the hype about the Heat winning their third consecutive championship and LeBron claiming his third straight MVP have been all over ESPN since last June. And while Rose once said just a little over a year ago that he didn't deserve anything that he had, his mindset has quickly changed into "Screw it, that MVP trophy is mine and I'm going to prove it."

Rose now expects to be the best and expects to have a championship ring on his finger at the end of this season. You could see it in the way he reacted after he hit the game-winner last night. He didn't pump his fist or beat his chest like he did after he buried a game-winner in the face of Brandon Jennings a few years back, he simply jogged to the bench. That's when you knew that Derrick Rose expects to be great and won't stop until he is. He wants the ball in his hands and wants everyone to watch closely. Chicago's quiet and unassuming native son is gone. It's now time for the new and improved Windy City Assassin to take the stage.