Minnesota Timberwolves: Best-case, worst-case for Derrick Rose

Best-Case Scenario

At this point in his career, Derrick Rose has to play around the 15-20 minutes mark on most nights in order to be able to go full-speed. Rose is great when he’s going all out on both ends on the floor, not so much when he’s mincing energies and listening to his body for 35 minutes.

But he has also shown nice things on the floor with the starters, flashing an ability to adapt to the circumstances that wasn’t on display with the dysfunctional mess that were the Knicks and Cavs. He’s been great cutting off the ball when defenses didn’t respect him, and there is still room for improvement in this department.

His shooting was off when he joined the team, but improved in the playoffs, where he shot 7-of-10 from 3-point land and knocked down some big shots. If he can catch his rhythm and climb back over 30 percent from downtown — not impossible considering he has already done it while a high-volume, primary scorer — it would be a huge boost to his off ball effectiveness.

The willingness to take big-time shots and make plays will also come in handy for a team that too often resorts to standing around watching Butler play hero-ball in crunch time.

On the defensive end of the floor, Thibodeau utilized Rose in the best of ways during the playoffs. He let him switch to guard bigger players, without making him take unnecessary punishment on screens, which surely would not help his body and durability.

Projection

The two things that Rose can bring to the table offensively when he is playing with the second unit are fastbreak points and getting to the heart of the lane to collapse the defense.

In those small minutes, you have to find him with outlet passes and run with him for easy points, which the Wolves have started to do in the playoffs. With an offseason and training camp to develop chemistry and integrate Rose into the team, things should get even better.

In the halfcourt, you have to spread the floor as much as you can (he will probably play with shooters like Anthony Tolliver and perhaps James Nunnally on the second unit) and go set a pick for him. Even to this day, it can be difficult for defenders to stay in front of him when he has room to get going downhill.

Last year was basically a lost season after developing a bone spur and suffering a severe ankle injury due to a hard foul in early November, then coming back to the Cavs’ mess and having to find a new team in March. Wolves fans should be optimist about Rose’s next season.

There’s still some of that MVP hidden under the scars and bruises, and nobody is more suitable than Thibodeau to make it come to light in limited minutes.