The Derrick Rose story has long been talked about. He was drafted originally by his hometown team in the Chicago Bulls. Rose would be the main cog in forming them into a title contender in the NBA's Eastern Conference, winning the 2010-2011 NBA MVP award. From there, things just seemed to go downhill.
He would have another successful regular season following his MVP season, but in that postseason, he went up for a finish around the rim and landed awkwardly on his knee, tearing his ACL. From there, Rose has been on an odyssey to find himself and his game. Through the multiple injuries, loss of confidence and the changing of teams, he has struggled to find that form he had when he was the league MVP.
He may never find that form again, but looking at his game in his second season in Minnesota and the 50 point game he just dropped Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz, it looks like Derrick Rose has finally found a way to reinvent his game in the NBA.
One part of Rose's game that people always talked about was his jump shot. When he first came in the NBA, he was dangerous attacking the rim, but plenty knew they could give him the jump shot because it was not consistent. Rose would often shoot a flat jump shot, meaning he would essentially line-drive the shots in. With the lack of trajectory, Rose's shot would often clang off the back of the rim or go through at times.
With is explosive leaping ability at the time, it often looked like he would hit jumpers when he was fresh but miss them when he was tired because he was exploding when he shot ever practice jump shot. Fast forward to now and Rose does not leap quite as high as he once did.
As a result, he has some consistency in the ease with which he jumps. He has realized that you don't have to get your maximum jump in every time you shoot the basketball. As a result, his shot now has some arc to it, giving it a chance to go in at all times.
Along with Rose's jump shot being better, he also has worked on negotiating the pick-and-roll better. Rose first entered the NBA, he was in attack mode at all times. He went to the basket relentlessly off the pick-and-roll and with his freakish athleticism, he would create many highlight reel plays.
Unfortunately, those same incredible plays he made before he was injured have not been regularly happening anymore due to the injuries he has suffered to his lower body, especially his knees and ankles. The result: Derrick Rose doesn't jump quite as high as he once did and move quite as fast as he used to move either. Over the time of his elite athleticism eroding, Rose took some time to figure out more on how to negotiate the pick-and-roll with his game in transition.
Well now, we see the now 30 year old Rose has seemingly figured it out. Rose still attacks the rim these days, but he does so by mixing his speeds. He knows he isn't as explosive as he once was, but he enters the pick-and-roll with control and comes off of it with control before changing up his speeds and getting where he wants to get on the court. The result have been him getting to the basket a little bit easier and since he isn't as explosive as he once was, he then creates angles when attacking big men at the rim, often using his body to shield the basketball or using the rim to protect his shot from getting blocked.
The development of Rose's game over the last seven years has been interesting to watch. He has had some moments and in other moments, it looks like the game has passed him by. Sure, his stats in terms of shooting percentages may not suggest it, but Rose has smoothed out his game.
He is giving his all and by the emotion he displayed after the Utah game, this means something to him. After the last six years and all the injuries and struggles with confidence, it seems like he is having joy playing the game again and he isn't becoming the Derrick Rose he once was.
He isn't Derrick Rose the NBA MVP anymore. He is now the grizzled veteran Derrick Rose that is giving his all to the game he loves, knowing each and every day isn't promised.
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