Jeff Zillgitt

USA TODAY Sports

It doesn’t look like Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose has lost that much quickness. Did you see him blow by Toronto’s Kyle Lowry? Did you see his performance in the Bulls’ win vs. Utah on Saturday? He made 10-for-15 shots and had 22 points.

Rose is averaging 18.8 points, 4.6 assists and 3.7 rebounds and shooting 47% since Jan. 1 – he has even better stats since the All-Star break – and this incarnation of Rose is … well, let’s hear from Rose. What has his performance this season told him about his game?

“I don’t know if everyone knows, but I feel like I’m a damn good player,” Rose said. “For someone who went through what I went through and come back and change their or modify their game to where I’m still productive on the court without using my speed all the time, it tells a lot if you know basketball.”

Is this the old Derrick Rose? Of course not. How could you expect him to be? The man has had significant knee injuries – torn left ACL and twice in different seasons sustained a torn meniscus in his right knee.

“He’s really gotten himself into a good rhythm,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. “Unfortunately, he’s had some nagging injuries that have had him in and out of the lineup. But the last month is how we need him to play as far as aggressively going to the basket, attacking the basket. He’s done a good job getting other guys involved, and he’s finished a lot of games for us.”

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However you want to characterize Rose’s game, this is indisputable: this is Rose’s finest stretch of basketball since multiple knee injuries have limited his career in the past four seasons.

That Rose is even playing at this level is a testament to his strength, determination, commitment and work ethic.

But the Chicago native remains polarizing, and a for-him-or-against-him stance emerged with not much room for gray areas or nuance.

Some of the anti-Rose sentiment is his responsibility, making comments that bother fans such as talking about his free agency two seasons before it gets here or saying when he sits out a game it’s because he wants to be healthy post-career or prevent another knee injury.

Rose is also misunderstood, and his supporters understand that.

“Trust me, I’m grateful. I’m happy,” he said. “I’m just happy to be where I’m at and like I always say, my appreciation of the game just grows every day, every year. I’m just loving where I’m at.”

He is also unapologetic. “My game is my game,” he said.

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In the offseason, he spent time working out with basketball trainer Rob McClanaghan, and on an off day last week in Washington, D.C., he practiced at Georgetown University with an assistant coach. He continues to develop his game, rediscovering rhythm and timing.

“One thing about Derrick, no one’s going to outwork him,” McClanaghan said. “He also learns how to take care of his body more and more every year.”

This season, Rose averages 16.7 points, 4.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds and since the All-Star break, he’s at 19.9 points, 5.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and shooting 52.4% from the field and 50% on three-pointers.

“I’ve been doing a good job of hanging with what’s been working,” Rose said. “I haven’t looked sluggish or haven’t been in a shooting slump. It’s just finding ways during the game to manipulate the game for my team’s sake.

Quietly, he reached a milestone two weeks ago, and it’s one worth recognizing considering the multiple knee injuries that have slowed Rose’s career: he has played in more than 51 games for the first time since 2010-11, the year he was NBA MVP.

“If I could play in 82 games, I would. But it’s not like that,” Rose said. “I have to deal with reality and just have to deal with my past and my present and hopefully, my future will be working towards 82 games.”