NY Knicks: Derrick Rose has been essential to team success
The Knicks knew they needed more offense from their backcourt when they went out and traded for Derrick Rose. He’s been everything they could’ve hoped for.
During the month of April, it seemed like every time the NY Knicks needed a bucket it was Rose who delivered. Whether he was pulling up for a patented mid-range jump shot, finishing with an acrobatic layup, or finding an open teammate – He has been a key ingredient in the recipe for success.
This team is prone to long offensive droughts. Long periods of play where the ball isn’t moving and they settle for bad shots. That’s where Rose has been so valuable. He’s been the one who can pry the team out of these slumps with his tough shot-making ability.
This month, we’ve seen Tom Thibodeau play Derrick Rose with the starters in the 4th quarter and it’s been a terrific strategy. Rose has been involved in many of the Knicks’ clutch plays late in games and has been the reason they’ve been able to pull ahead in some of their close wins.
The electric rookie had some tough moments to start the month. It wasn’t the confident Immanuel Quickley we had grown accustomed to seeing. His floater wasn’t falling, he looked indecisive with his jumpshot – All of the parts to his offensive game that we know are strengths were falling flat.
However, over the last 2 games, we’ve gotten to see that spark come back. In the Knicks’ last game against the Chicago Bulls it was Quickley who came out and scored 11 points within the first 4 minutes of the 4th quarter. Not many other Knicks can flip a switch and become a walking bucket like that.
Immanuel Quickley from WAY downtown pic.twitter.com/aW4bLndibZ
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) April 29, 2021
It’s also worth noting Quickley saw a pretty dramatic dip in his usage rate early on in the month as well as the end of March as well. He was being used much more as an off-ball shooter as opposed to a primary ball-handler. I think going forward, he’ll need to get his playmaking and assist totals up when he has the ball in his hands. It doesn’t need to be anything dramatic, maybe somewhere in the 3-4 assists per game mark like his teammate Rose. Either way, the rookie looks poised to assert himself more as the season nears its’ end.