New York Knicks: How Derrick Rose Will Help NY Contend

3. Pick and Roll

The bread and butter of Jeff Hornacek‘s offense with the Phoenix Suns was the pick and roll. That’s hardly surprising when one considers that Hornacek comes from the coaching trees of Jerry Sloan and Cotton Fitzsimmons.

Though the New York Knicks project to have a far more versatile half court offense than Phoenix was able to, the pick and roll remains a key cog in Hornacek’s system—something the coach told Rose, per Lang Whitaker of NBA.com.

"Then you think about the Triangle for playoffs, the Triangle for halfcourt basketball. I talked to Coach Horn, and he was saying with the Triangle he would have to vary the Triangle to have a lot of pick and rolls in there at the top of the key or on the side. So it’s really whatever they decide to do, and I have to find my way around it."

Here’s the issue: Rose isn’t very proficient in facilitating via the pick and roll—yet.

The positive is that Rose did a solid job of scoring off of the pick and roll in 2015-16. He ranked No. 10 in the NBA with 7.2 points as the pick and roll ball handler per game, and shot a relatively efficient 44.4 percent on said plays.

The issue is that Rose wasn’t a very willing passer, which he’ll need to be in order for Jeff Hornacek’s system to run as smoothly as it can.

Nevertheless, one can’t help but feel intrigued by what Rose brings to the table. Carmelo Anthony and Jose Calderon led the Knicks with 2.4 points as the pick and roll ball handler per game respectively, which was one-third of what Rose provided.

Rose isn’t a flawless player, but the areas in which he excels are the areas in which the Knicks’ 2015-16 point guards struggled. This is Exhibit A.

Next: Get In There