NY Knicks pick for Sixth Man of the Year: Derrick Rose
After an incredible 35 games in the orange and blue, Derrick Rose finished 3rd in voting for the NBA’s 6MOY Award. Understandably, since Rose began his season with the Detroit Pistons, he didn’t do enough in such a short amount of time to win the award in the eyes of the voters.
That being said, there is little reason to believe that Rose couldn’t expand on the performance he had in 2020-21 for the New York Knicks by replicating it this upcoming season. Sure, Rose has a reputation for being fragile. But, if he can stay on the court with his age and injury history not being a large factor, then Rose will once again be a 6MOY finalist.
The former MVP still clearly has plenty of gas left in the tank. With the Knicks, Rose finished 2nd on the team in assists per game and PER, as well as third in points per game. And this was all prior to the sensational playoff performance D-Rose had in round one vs the Atlanta Hawks.
In five games and three of which he started, he averaged 19.4 PPG, 5 APG, and 4 RPG. He shot an efficient 48% from the field and a ridiculous 47% from three. He scored 26 points off of the bench in New York’s lone win in the series. Additionally, he recorded a 30/5/6 stat line in Game 3 where he shot 13-21 from the field and 3-5 from downtown.
Even with the additions of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier to the Knicks backcourt, Rose will still be a major component of the team’s execution. If last year taught us anything, Rose won’t let the Knicks lose any game without a fight. And when they win, he likely has something to do with it. Expect the league to notice that once again throughout the coming year.