His best days are way behind him now, but that does not mean Derrick Rose can't contribute meaningful numbers for the New York Knicks. The former NBA MVP is even getting high praise from Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau for his contributions to the team, albeit in limited minutes.

Thibodeau is particularly amazed by the way Derrick Rose is shooting the ball from behind the arc.

Via Steve Popper of Newsday:

“I like the fact he’s helping us play fast,” Thibodeau said. “He puts a lot of pressure on people. He gets into the paint. The thing that probably doesn’t get enough attention is he’s really become a very good shooter, terrific three-point shooter now, and that’s much-needed for us. Just his all-around play, his experience, I think he gives guys confidence. Game’s not too big no matter what the circumstances are.”

Derrick Rose has made at least a 3-pointer in each of the last five Knicks games, including a 3-for-4 shooting from deep in a win over the Detroit Pistons at home on Oct 21.

The 34-year-old Rose knows that to stretch his career longer in the NBA, he would have to rely more on his perimeter shooting. Fortunately for him and the Knicks, he has been having success with that this season, thus far. He is averaging 1.3 3-pointers made per game on 47.1 percent accuracy.

The sample size is still small as the season is still in the early goings, but if the current trend for Derrick Rose stays, the 2022-23 NBA campaign will be the Knicks guard's highest in his career in terms of 3-point attempt rate. He is attempting 44.7 percent of his shots from the field this season from the 3-point region. He has not finished a season before with a higher 3-point attempt rate than 33.6 percent.

Rose is currently the third-string Knicks point guard, as he is behind Jalen Brunson and Immanuel Quickley on the depth chart. He is only playing 13.0 minutes per game, but knowing his worth and blending in nicely with the team by accepting his role with the Knicks are making Derrick Rose a much more important asset to New York than his numbers suggest.