Derrick Rose cuts his hair and drops the mask

Derrick Rose cut his hair. And, more importantly, his mask.

Rose showed off his new do for the first time during the Bulls’ game Saturday against the New Orleans Pelicans. Gone was the look he’s shown off all season, and in was a haircut similar to what he wore during his 2010-11 MVP campaign.

Perhaps of more consequence could be the absence of the mask he’d worn to protect the left orbital bone he broke during training camp. He forgot to wear it during the second half of Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers and it didn’t come back against New Orleans.

At Saturday’s shootaround, Rose hadn’t let his teammates in on his decision. But they knew Rose was anticipating the change.

“He hasn’t said anything to me. I talked to him the other day on our off-day and I was like ‘How does it feel?’ He said ‘it felt like a new man,’” Doug McDermott said. “It’s a good sign for us. I think you’re going to like Derrick’s clean look. It’s pretty cool.”

Maybe getting rid of the mask can help Rose’s shooting. Entering Saturday he’s hitting only 36.3 percent of his shots and getting to the free-throw line only 2.6 times per game.

No, the mask isn’t the only reason Rose’s numbers are down, but shedding it could be a good thing.

“It will help a lot. Being a shooter, for me, I don’t think I could really do that,” McDermott said. “Especially a guy that, he gets to the rim, finishes around the rim. If you’re taking away a little bit of vision it puts you at a huge disadvantage. I think you’ll see some improvements in his shooting.”

Hoiberg echoed that, saying it would have caused issues for him during his playing career.

“I think so. It would have been for me,” Hoiberg said. “I wouldn’t have liked to shoot with that thing on my face.”