Did the NY Knicks already make their big splash with Derrick Rose?

NY Knicks: Has Derrick Rose earned a bigger role?

The Knicks’ starting point guard job has fueled a lot of debate this season. The team has experimented with a wide variety of guard combinations. While Derrick Rose looks comfortable in his bench role, you have to at least ponder what the team would look like if he became the starter.

While some fans may be clamoring for Immanuel Quickley to get the starting job, it’s been Rose who has filled in tremendously when Elfrid Payton has gone down with an injury. Elfrid Payton recently missed 4 games with his injury and Derrick Rose got the start in 3 of them (Rose missed 2 games due to COVID protocols).

In those 3 starts, the Knicks played the Kings, Pacers, and Pistons, and Rose averaged 16.3 points on 52.7% from the field to go with 7.3 assists. The team won all three games, and Rose finished as a +4, +11, and +17. The ball was moving rapidly throughout those games, and Rose was a big part of it.

So the question remains – Is Derrick Rose going to take on a larger role in the 2nd half of the season?

I think the answer is yes… and no. No matter how you slice it, Thibodeau loves Elfrid Payton as the team’s starter, and I think it’s going to remain that way. Payton may hamper the team’s pace, but he brings a rugged style of defense and leadership that Thibodeau likes to lean on, especially for setting the tone early in games. The contrast of the starters and 2nd unit has worked well for the Knicks, but just because Rose isn’t starting doesn’t mean he can’t eat into Payton’s minutes.

I think the team will realize that Rose’s impact is a net-positive, and late in games when the team needs offense they’ll lean on him as opposed to Payton. We could definitely see Derrick Rose’s minutes go up in the 2nd half of the year. Rose’s ability to quickly generate buckets is invaluable for a team that will have long stretches of inept offense. Is it enough to keep the Knicks high up in the standings?