There’s no question Derrick Rose is a talented basketball player. But to be honest, everyone who ever makes it to the NBA has talent. But Rose is not an ordinary player. He’s always been special. He’s always been considered an out-of-this-world talent.
That’s exactly the reason why it’s so sad to watch him play right now. The former Chicago Bulls star is playing for the New York Knicks, and he just doesn’t like… right. It seems he’s a shell of his former self. There’s no doubt he’s capable of being a starting PG in today’s NBA. But it’s safe to say he’s not going to be like the player who won the MVP back in 2011.
We’ve only witnessed more than a week of the 2016-17 NBA regular season, and we are sure Rose is not coming back. He looks tired at times. He doesn’t have the same shooting stroke. Leadership? Not at all. This is Carmelo’s and Kristaps’ team. Rose is nothing more than a complementary piece. And who knows? Maybe that’s the role where he will fit better going forward.
Rose averaged 25 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds in his MVP season, but things went downhill from there. He played 100 games between the 2011-12 and the 2014-15 season. And the results weren’t encouraing either, as he averaged 19.2 pts and 6.0 assists while shooting 41 percent from the field and 30 percent from three. He went from being an MVP-type player, to an slightly above-average player. That’s quite a downfall.
It’s really sad to think about what could’ve happened. What if he hadn’t struggled with injuries in recent years? What if that awkward injury during the 2012 Playoffs never happened?
We could easily be talking about the best point guard in the league right now. He tried and tried to get back to his former level, but couldn’t. At times it was his body, and at times it was his head that didn’t let him operate. His mechanics weren’t the same either, as he doesn’t have the smooth shooting stroke he displayed early in his career. Even if he played 66 games last year, that’s not enough.
Undoubtedly, Rose is on his way to become one of the greatest “what ifs” in the league’s history.