We already knew Derrick Rose was back. We had seen the 50-point outburst and the tears that followed. We watched him convert those vintage up-and-unders, the same ones that had revived an entire franchise seven years earlier. We observed the transformation of an athlete into a lethal 3-point shooter. We saw it all.
We viewed it all from afar as the same Derrick Rose that had made basketball fun in Chicago again became that player once again this season. And on Wednesday night, we got to witness him do it in the city, in the arena and on the court where it all began.