HE CANBE GREAT AGAIN
No longer among the best at his position, Rose must work to reclaim his turf
Afair debate these days when ranking NBA point guards: Is Kyle Lowry better than Derrick Rose?
My, how the mighty have fallen.
But that’s the company Rose keeps heading into the season.
The Bulls point guard used to be in the argument for supremacy at the position, even after his knee first betrayed him in the 2012 playoffs. Now he doesn’t even have residency in the top 10.
Let’s start with Stephen Curry atop the point guard position, and follow that up with Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, JohnWall, Kyrie Irving, Goran Dragic, Mike Conley, Damian Lillard, Tony Parker, Eric Bledsoe, and Jeff Teague. That’s about the spot the RoseLowry debate can begin, despite Rose insisting at the start of training camp, “I know I’m great.’’
“Used to be great” would have been much more accurate.
The good news for Rose as the preseason winds down is that he seems willing to try to change some minds about where he stands in the NBA.
Rose described playing the point in new coach Fred Hoiberg’s offense: “It’s a lot of open space, a lot of drives. I don’t think there’s no reason why I shouldn’t average over seven assists with all the shooters that we have and the way he lets us shoot the ball. I’m excited. I’m anxious actually to go play.’’
That could have been the most eye- opening statement to come out of his first meeting with the media since his surgery Sept. 30 to repair an orbital fracture— he’s willing to play Robin to Jimmy Butler’s Batman.
“Oh, yeah, I’m cool with that,’’ Rose said of playing facilitator. “Whatever makes the game easy. Even when I came back and practiced before training camp, I wasn’t being aggressive. I was just trying to get the feel for the offense and just get used to pushing the ball the way [ Hoiberg] wants us to push it. He yelled at me a couple of times for not pushing the ball and getting the ball up the court quick enough.
“I just have to reprogram myself. My whole life, I was used to playing an up- tempo game. Under [ former coach Tom Thibodeau], it’s kind of a slower offense. We’d run here and there. Fred, he wants one pace but under control.’’
If Rose can pace the team, attack the rim when necessary and rely on a drive- and- kick mentality that will take advantage of an open floor, there’s no reason he can’t be among the best point guards in the NBA.
The flip side is what he displayed far too often last season. Too many threepoint attempts for a 28 percent shooter in the regular season, way too many selfish moments, evidenced by his 4.9 assists and 3.2 turnovers per game, and the real head- scratcher— no understanding of when to attack the rim.
When Rose wasn’t injured last year, there were too many games in which he was nothing more than a $ 20 million- a- year shoe salesman.
So while Rose was saying all the right things Thursday, it’s time for less talk and more action from the one- time MVP.
“You still don’t lose track of what your goals are,’’ Rose said. “That’s just trying to win games, trying to get better withmy teammates, get on the same page with everybody, get on the same page with my coaches.’’
If Rose can do that, the rest will take care of itself.