The Definitive New York Knicks Roster Breakdown: The Backcourt
By Adam Kester
New York Knicks Backcourt: Derrick Rose
He’s back on a 3-year deal.
With all of the rumors that surrounded the New York Knicks before last year’s trade deadline, it was Derrick Rose who turned out to be their big splash. It only took Dennis Smith Jr. and a mid 2nd round pick.
What We Know
Derrick Rose was one of the NBA’s best 6th men last season and he”ll continue to operate in that same role this year. Rose has already talked about the team bringing in Kemba Walker and how excited he is to play with him this season. He is happy to come off of the bench.
Rose is a dynamic scorer, playmaker, and an elite overall ball-handler. He has reinvented himself later on in his career but still remains a hyper-quick scorer using moves that he always has.
What To Expect
Rose is going to be the 6th man but don’t expect that to always be the case. With Kemba Walker likely going to be managed throughout the season (We already saw Walker rest during the team’s 3rd preseason game, no other healthy starter rested) Derrick Rose will likely have some starting point guard spot starts this season.
Derrick Rose is one of those players who is much better than their per-game stats will show.
Given his current role and the fact his points per game will likely hover somewhere between 12-16 points, on the surface, he may just look like a classic “spark plug” scorer.
When given the chance, Rose can be one of the best scoring guards in the NBA. We saw it over and over again in both the regular season and in the playoffs and we will continue to see it this year. The New York Knicks’ efficiency when Rose was on the court compared to when he was off the court was staggering.
The biggest question mark with the Rose/Walker combo is who will be on the court to close out games?
Kemba Walker’s Cardiac Kemba” nickname came from his propensity to knock down clutch shots in the biggest moments. Derrick Rose was one of New York’s clutches players last season.
We saw Derrick Rose excel in the Knicks’ most recent preseason game, a comeback thriller against the Washington Wizards.
My gut feeling is that Rose will be on the court down the stretch more than Walker. Rose may not be known as a defender but his size and experience in Thibodeau’s system make him more of an asset on that side of the floor.