Tom Thibodeau seems to have a certain affinity for his ex-Chicago Bulls players, and while there’s technically nothing wrong with that, now is not the time to be undertaking the Derrick Rose Experiment.
Derrick Rose was a prodigy at one point in his career.
After being awarded the Rookie of the Year award in in 2009, Rose backed up with another impressive year in 2009-10 before again outdoing himself and being awarded the MVP award following the 2010-11 season, the youngest player to ever achieve the feat.
If Rose’s series of unfortunate injuries had never have taken place, perhaps he would still be on his path to becoming one of the most promising NBA players of recent times. Maybe Tom Thibodeau holds a bit of guilt for his part in the injuries, and has decided to give Rose the best shot of redemption he can.
When news broke that the Wolves would consider signing Rose after his waiving from Utah, there was mixed reaction across Twitter. Some fans wondered, why sign Rose — who has now been on four teams in the last two calendar years — when his career seems all but over? Others seemed more optimistic that Rose would have a renaissance of sorts under his former Chicago head coach.
Personally, I’ve tried my hardest to like Rose’s addition and see the best in the signing. In fact, in his first two games as a Timberwolf, the Wolves managed to go 2-0, albeit Rose’s play was quite unimpressive.
In his Minnesota debut against the Golden State Warriors, Rose’s six minutes saw him go just 1-for-5 from the field with two assists and a rebound, and a dismal and quite shocking -17 plus/minus.
In the loss against the Spurs, he received 15 minutes of play (quite long, considering Thibodeau’s short rotation) and managed eight points on 4-of-9 shooting to go along with a rebound, a steal and two assists.
While the San Antonio showed signs of promise, it also came in increased minutes that seemingly hadn’t been earned based on previous outings. I, myself, am all for Rose getting time to play, however perhaps not during this tough stretch of must-win games for the Wolves.
On Sunday, Rose turned in what was easily his best performance in a Timberwolves uniform, albeit in what was ultimately a tough loss.
And now, Minnesota is precariously close to slipping right out of a playoff position.
Utah, who has spent the season trailing the Wolves and quite often the top-eight altogether, are on a nine-game winning streak that currently sees them above the Wolves, and San Antonio has managed to halt their downhill slide to currently claim the seventh seed.
With every game seemingly counting more than ever right now, the Wolves need to be putting their best foot forward to ensure their place in the playoffs.
The Derrick Rose experiment has had its ups-and-downs so far in its short run, but now is not the time to be experimenting.
No matter what feelings of guilt or nostalgia Thibodeau may be harboring, Rose is not the player he once was, and whether he can ever return to his former glory in Minnesota colours will have to wait to be seen.
Playing an unproven guard during such an important stretch of the season is not the right move in such a heavily contested Western Conference, where every game has to be treated as a must-win.
Next: Is this a new beginning for Derrick Rose?
Tom Thibodeau’s Derrick Rose Experiment is far from over, but he needs to hit the pause button.