When Derrick Rose ditched his protective facemask on Dec. 10, he looked like a shadow of his old self. But according to Rose, it was his faith, not the boost in his productivity, that led him to remove the mask.
“I love the mask,’’ the Bulls point guard said Wednesday via the Chicago Sun-Times. “But I just felt like with the mask, I got too much faith to be hiding behind something. So I just took it off."
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It's undeniable that since he stopped playing with the mask, Rose's statistics have improved. In the games since Dec. 10, he improved to shooting percentage of 50.7 in the restricted area, compared to the 37.5 percent he was shooting with the mask earlier this season.
But according to Rose, he can't tell the difference in playing without the mask.
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"If I was to get hit again, of course I wouldn’t want to, but it would be out of my hands. It’s not in my control anymore," Rose said. "So I just took it off and put it in God’s hands. As far as playing with it off, I really can’t tell the difference. The games have still been the same. It’s just that I’m getting my legs under me a little bit more.
“I’m saying mentally, I wouldn’t know. When I had it on, I felt alright about having it on. I didn’t complain about having it on or putting it back on. I really don’t read into that. All I know is, it was alright when I had it.’’