Derrick Rose made his New York Knicks debut Tuesday night, and the official regulation game reunion with Head Coach Tom Thibodeau. Cue the Peaches and Herb classic ‘Reunited’ because this is what Rose had to say when asked if he hoped to return to play for Coach Thibodeau.
“Of course,” Rose said “Even though I couldn’t say that at the time, I just wanted to be comfortable. Like I said, I’ve been knowing these guys ever since high school, eighth grade, high school, so coming here, like I said, it’s family. I never really thought about anything else but really getting here and understanding they wanted me to help grow the young guys they’ve already got here.”
The trade became official on Monday, and the Knicks should be happy to have him. In his first game with the club, Rose scored 14 points in 20 minutes in a 98-96 loss in Miami to the Heat.
More significant than his play can be taken from his about quote when he says he understands part of why he was acquired is to help in the development of the young Knicks players. That’s huge. Especially when you look at the minutes that Rose played, he shared the court with the rising rookie Immanuel Quickly. This decision was intentional by Thibodeau.
“I think you see it often when you have multiple point guards out on the floor, it gives you another ball handler, secondary ball handler, and you can probably include Alec (Burks) in there, as well,” Thibodeau said. “So it gives us three guys that can go off the dribble, and all three are very efficient in pick-and-rolls. Their versatility allows them to actually blend with both groups. So I think we’ll see some of that as we go forward, as well.”
Versatility.
One glaring weakness for the Knicks this season has been just that, versatility. The addition of Rose gives the entire New York lineup flexibility it hasn’t had all season. Not only that, but after one game, the trade did not impact Quickley’s spot in the rotation. Of playing with the rookie, Derrick Rose said.
“It shouldn’t be too hard [playing] with him,” Rose said. “We’re similar. He’s getting double-teamed in his rookie year. There ain’t too many rookies getting that type of attention. For him to see that kind of early, it’s just going to make his game better. The game is going to slow down more. And he listens. That’s the greatest thing about him: He listens. With that, you always got room for improvement.”
Although the Knicks left the game with a loss on Rose’s debut, that theme of improvement was evident. It’s important to note that it’s obvious that Rose isn’t the player he was in his first stint with Tom Thibodeau in Chicago. However, he is an improvement and upgrade at point guard for the Knicks and could be important in their playoff push.
Not only will the young Knicks players benefit from the former MVP’s presence, but the whole team and especially their suffering offense. It will be exciting to see how Thibodeau and the team execute their newfound versatilty.
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