New York Knicks: How Derrick Rose has become the Sixth Man of the Year

New York Knicks: Derrick Rose has single-handedly won them games

To say a player has “Single-handedly” won games for a team may sound like hyperbole but anyone who has watched Knicks games knows – Derrick Rose has put the team on his back more than once.

This job is typically for the team’s star player, Julius Randle. Randle has delivered and easily been the team’s best player – but he’s still human. Last night was a perfect example: Julius Randle had a rare off-shooting night and struggled with his shot against Memphis. It was Rose who decided to take over.

In the last month, Tom Thibodeau has begun to realize just how important it was for him to play Derrick Rose in the 4th quarter. The coach frequently labeled as “stubborn” has made the key adjustment and it’s been vital to the team’s success.

Rose has been at the center of New York’s dominant play over the past month. During the team’s last 13 games where they’ve gone 12-1, he’s averaged 17.4 points per game on 54.7% shooting. In this same stretch of games, Rose has shot 66.7% from the field in “clutch situations” (5 minutes or less, game differential less than 5 points.)

Guys like Barrett, Burks, Quickley, Payton have all had clutch moments, but no one has been able to do it at the level of consistency that Rose does. He shows up in crunch time.

You take Derrick Rose off of this team and I have no idea where they would be.