Derrick Rose made a statement on Thursday, logging 29 points, five rebounds and seven assists against the Thunder while taking over the fourth quarter to lead the Bulls to a 104-98 win. He outplayed Russell Westbrook down the stretch and quieted the rumors about the Bulls being ready to move on from him. He showed that he still has tremendous value when he's playing smart, efficient ball.
Derrick Rose is still a force when he plays to his strengths
When he’s not trying to do too much, Rose is still a quality point guard. He showed that against the Thunder on Thursday night.
His dominant performance came after two games in which he scored in single figures, including a blowout loss against the Hornets that exposed a lot of the Bulls' weaknesses. Rose was tentative and falling into bad habits, settling for outside shots and not pushing the ball in transition. He was averaging 10 points on 34 percent shooting from the floor and proving to be a net negative.
The official explanation for his struggles was that he was still rounding into form after missing time with an orbital fracture, but the reality is he simply wasn’t playing to his strengths. That changed against the Thunder.
In the first half, Rose drove to the basket and either finished or assisted teammates after using ball screens to get the defense out of position.
In the second half, he took full advantage of the Thunder’s poor pick-and-roll defense to get a couple of easy layups, forcing Billy Donovan to ask his team to switch.
With big men backpedaling to prevent penetration, Rose easily created separation for open looks from mid-range, which he had no trouble connecting on now that he was in rhythm after establishing his driving game.
There were no unnecessary heroics, no three-pointers, no rushing. He simply took what the defense was giving him all game long. If a shot was there, he launched it. If a teammate was in a better position, he found him. After either forcing the issue or being passive for most of the young season, he finally started to play smart ball, proving that he can still be a force on the offensive end when he plays under control.
Rose has put together great performances in the past, only to go back to bad habits the next night. Hopefully for the Bulls, this time things will be different and he continues to understand his limitations. If he does, he can still play at a high level for years to come.
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