Who are the New York Knicks’ biggest X-factors?

New York Knicks X-Factors: Derrick Rose

I came close to putting Alec Burks on the list over Rose, but considering that Rose made the Knicks a much more successful team since the second he got here gives him an edge.

Another part of this is my bias towards floor-general players.  Rose can run an offense perfectly.  Whenever he comes in off the bench, the ball movement seems to improve, and he and the Knicks big men love running the pick and roll together.

Rose also seems like one of the best teammates in the NBA.  This is no knock on Burks or anyone else on the Knicks or in the NBA, it is just praise towards how much Rose cares about his teammates.

In the game where Mitchell Robinson broke his foot, Mike Breen mentioned it to Rose in a post-game interview, and Rose was unaware. Rose has probably the most notable history of leg injuries in NBA history, having atrocious injury luck with his knees.

Rose was devastated, and the interview is frankly hard to watch since you can feel how upset Rose was about a guy who had only been his teammate for six weeks at the time.

Leon Rose claimed that Rose was also an “extension of Coach Thibodeau on the court.” This came out soon after the Knicks announced that Rose had re-signed with the Knicks for three more years.

This statement also looks as true as possible.  If you watch Rose closely in games, you can see he constantly is giving guys directions and helping them out on both ends of the floor.  He runs a fundamental game and is able to excite Knicks fans with his silky smooth style.

Rose is an incredibly talented player, but the way he can steal momentum away and make the Knicks offense flow, whether he is running with the starters or the bench, makes him a certain X-Factor to the team, especially when you consider how much heart he plays with.