Minnesota Timberwolves: The reinvented Derrick Rose is a 2019 All-Star
By Trey Flynn
Derrick Rose is having one of the best seasons of his career, but looks like a radically different player than his MVP-self.
Not to sound like a broken record, but look at these numbers one more time:
18.5 PPG, 4.6 AST, 2.8 TRB, with shooting splits of 48.5/46.9/84.2.
Those statistics face-value look like a potential All-Star reserve, but what’s even more impressive is that Rose is doing all of this off the bench while averaging less than 30 minutes played per game (29.2).
The most eye-popping number for Rose is his 46.9 percent from the arc, how is that possible?
Rose has infamously been one of the worst 3-point shooting guards in the NBA for a decade, especially when compared to the elite of the league. Shooting close to four 3-pointers a game and almost hitting those shots at a 50 percent clip is ridiculous.
It’s safe to say that Rose has reinvented himself into a new star, almost personifying his game like a piece of playdough that is being shaped into whatever Rose chooses.
To be frank, D-Rose has gone from being a version of modern day Russell Westbrook to a better version of Lou Williams, who can essentially slash and dash at will. And he’s done this because of perseverance in the face of non-stop injuries, as well as being plagued with a bad reputation around the NBA since his departure from Chicago (playing with 3 organizations since the Bulls).
With zero remorse, fans have loved to hate on Rose since his injury, talking about the player as if he was a ghost in this league.
However, his unprecedented recreation of himself can be seen through these telling numbers:
Pre-Acl injury 2010-11 season (MVP) – 6.9 FTA, 45.5 FG/33.2 3PT, 43 dunks, 58.8 percent of 3’s assisted, TS (true shooting) 55.0 percent.
2018-19 season – 3.2 FTA, 48.5 FG/46.9 3PT, 1 dunk, 73.3 percent of 3’s assisted, TS (true shooting) 57.2 percent.
These numbers are an indictment of Rose’s new game post-injury, he’s transformed himself into an off-the-ball guard who can cipher through both backcourt positions at will.
With Rose’s free throw attempts cut in half between his MVP season and now, you can tell that he’s chosen to slow down when slashing to the rim. And it’s even more apparent that his injury-led lack of athleticism has stolen his ability to get easy dunks in transition, with only 1 dunk this season opposed to 43 in his MVP year.
The jump in both 2-point and 3-point shooting percentages also reinforces the notion that Rose has opted out of being near the rim as much, especially his numbers from downtown.
The percent of 3-pointers assisted this season have been an eye-popping number at 73.3 when compared to the 58.8 of them during his 2010-11 campaign. Rose was the primary ball handler in Chicago, and would take just as many shots from downtown in his MVP year that he takes now. Except a large portion of those shots were contested top-of-the-arc shots; a lot like what you see Westbrook take in todays game, which aren’t efficient shots.
Which leads me to the last advanced tidbit.
The true shooting percentage of a player is predicated on their 2-point shots, 3-point shots, free throws, and points scored. Which makes the TS percent a highly advanced way of calculating a players efficiency, and Rose is having a career-best TS season.
Rose’s ability to be resourceful, creative, innovative, and efficient has sparked the conversation for him to become an All-Star.