Player Facts
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 200lbs.
Date of Birth: Oct. 4, 1988
College Experience: Memphis (1 year)
Selections
All Star: 3
All-NBA: 1
All-Defensive: 0
Player Grades
Speed/Explosiveness: 8
Physical Strength: 7
Positional Size: 6
Positional Wingspan: 8
Paint Scoring: 8
Midrange Scoring: 7
Three-Point Scoring: 6
Dribbling: 8
Passing: 7
Perimeter Defense: 5
Interior Defense: 3
Rebounding: 4
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STRENGTHS
Intro
The once-superstar guard has since adjusted to remain effective despite a drop in athleticism. Derrick Rose has been, and remains, a score-first guard. He does the bulk of his damage inside the arc despite being only 6'2".
Downhill Pressure
Derrick has the length and strong build to be a relentless attacker going downhill. He can drive going left or right and is an acrobatic, ambidextrous finisher at the tin. Sporting a 6'8" wingspan, his length helps him extend out on scoops and reverses to avoid the hands of shot-blockers.
He is a high-volume slasher at point guard. Rose finds a way to get inside regardless of the offensive set he's involved in. His 17.6 drives/night in 2019-2020 was tied with James Harden and ahead of Bradley Beal. In terms of getting to the line, he gets there a decent amount relative to his minutes and remains a steady 80%+ player there.
2021-2022 still has him just a shade under double-digit drives per contest, at an identical figure to that of Stephen Curry's. In terms of getting to the line, he gets there a decent amount relative to his minutes and remains a steady 80%+ player there.
Finishing Package
On his drives, D-Rose finished a superb 56.4% of his shots (2019-2020). This efficiency + volume combo has been a staple for Derrick across his long NBA tenure. By the numbers, his at-the-rim clip of 63.5% that year beat out even bigger guards Russell Westbrook, Zach LaVine, and Jrue Holiday.
Rose has incredibly glided to the basket to hang-and-hit all sorts of layups over the years. That dexterity around the cup has not waned much as his career presses on. At a sturdy 200-pounds flat, Rose invites contact at the rim and looks to finish as his man is on their way down.
His finishing of course plays in the open court as well. He blazes to the cup whether filling the lane or leading the break. Where these transition chances would once be capped off with vicious slams in his heyday, controlled lay-ins are now his flavor of choice.
Dribble Drives
Getting to the hole used to be almost solely predicated on outrageous burst and a combustible first step. An aging Derrick finds himself using a still-solid first move but some more speed mix-ups to keep his man guessing. He's become more adept at using hesi's in particular to fuel his path to the iron.
The nasty crossover duo (left-to-right and right-to-left) is ever-present and so is the knack for attacking the defender's top foot/identifying their momentum and exploiting it. A bit of a throwback, Derrick will on occasion pull out his patented show-pump where he fakes a jump for the layup. Numerous smaller players have since tried to emulate this move in the wake of Rose's early-career success with it.
The deep expertise of a once-MVP is expectedly quite valuable on the basketball court. For Derrick, this manifests as an iso ability that hasn't left him all too much. 2018-2019 saw the guy place in the 88th percentile for isolation scoring followed by the 87th the next year.
Floater + Midrange Game
Stopping shy and rising for a floater or midranger has always been a dependable counter move for Derrick. That two-footed jump stop, stop-and-pop righty push floater is a classic move for Rose. His accuracy on floaters has always been at a respectable level.
2019-2020 saw him average 1.7 non-restricted area paint buckets per contest. This knotted him with Ja Morant and CJ McCollum. Derrick's 45.4% efficiency here was the best out of the trio.
The midrange is commonly used by Derrick as well. The point guard entered the league at a time where the two-point jumper was something you needed in your toolbelt as a player. His competencies here have stuck around to the tune of 1.4 midrange buckets a game in 2019-2020 then 1.3 in 2020-2021.
Screen Utilization
Like any guard, Derrick loves to use a screen from his big man to discard his primary defender. The veteran guard does all the little things such as textbook screen usage technique as well as timing up his blow-by move with the moment his man gets hit by the pick.
The common outcome when Derrick initiates these actions is a snake or simply a split then take to the rack. The snakes can lead to floaters, pull-up midrangers and even running hooks across the lane. When in full attack-mode Rose cradles the ball like a running back as he takes two long power steps leading to the lay-in.
Passing Abilities
With all of those reps driving the basketball comes some familiarity as a passer here. This area is Derrick's playmaking root. He patiently processes where the help is being sucked in from and looks for a teammate in that direction.
He is a skillful pocket passer in addition to his kickout abilities. The former Memphis Tiger decelerates around the free-throw line on middle pick-and-rolls to assess. His pass directionality is strong, equipping him to make the read whether his dive man is streaking to his left or his right.
Defensive Contributions
The couple defensive highlights for Derrick are good 3pt defense and workable screen navigation. Firstly, he hustles hard out to shooters if he recognizes that the swing pass series is headed their way. Secondly, his point of attack work produced an 87th percentile spot defending pick-and-roll ball-handlers and 63rd percentile on handoffs (both 2019-2020).
WEAKNESSES
Streaky Shooting
Derrick's major hole as a scorer has always been his three-point shooting. His percentages have fluctuated above and below league average across his career. Even when he does nail them, he isn't exactly a threat to make a high volume.
On-the-ball, the streaky shooting plagues him in the sense that defenders can steadily go under screens. This cuts off some would-be driving angles for Derrick. While he was able to still get to the cup at will during his athletic prime, it's a bit tougher to attack against the under in recent years.
The three-point woes hamstring his ability to play away from the ball. Defenses prefer Rose to take a standstill spot-up as opposed to catching and going. With offensive actions taking place without Derrick, he'll sometimes idle rather than relocate or cut.
Rose can also take some awkward floaters that are quite difficult shots. While he has always been able to make some of these, the shot selection here can slip into a poor one fast. A steady diet of fading, falling-out-of-bounds floaters is not ideal.
Non-Elite Facilitation
Playmaking has been a relatively weak point for Derrick. Relative to his scoring abilities, it falls short. Relative to his point guard peers, it too is subpar. His assist-to-turnover ratios are typically mediocre at best.
Weak Points on Defense
The defensive side has largely been a struggle for D-Rose. his younger, more spry years were a little less troublesome in this facet. Still, Derrick has never made his mark in the league through his defensive work.
His man defense tends to be poor, undersized at 6'2". His point of attack work is serviceable but one-on-one he can struggle to contain. He was in the 43rd percentile guarding isolations in 2019-2020.
Derrick's off-ball defense is shoddier than his on-ball work. He can get stuck ball-watching which renders him out of position as opponents shift spots.
Rose can also gamble at inopportune moments yet doesn't have the steals/deflections totals to show for it. In 2019-2020 he averaged just 0.8 steals and 1.1 deflections per contest.
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