Derrick Rose: Why He Should Stop Settling For Jump Shots

Does Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose need to attack the rim more? Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau certainly thinks so.

Derrick Rose, at one point during his career, was known as one of the most explosive players in the league. His ability to twist and contort his body, while fearlessly attacking the rim was something that the average sports fan could only dream about. Along with that, Rose was also effective in the midrange game, which is illustrated in the video below that highlights his jaw-dropping, 44-point performance against the Atlanta Hawks in the 2011 playoffs.

It was this dual-threat ability that helped Rose capture the MVP during in 2010-11. During that season, the Bulls point guard averaged 25.0 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds per contest. And although the Bulls lost in five games to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, the consensus was that Rose had arrived, and that Chicago had a franchise player that it could begin to build around.

However, following two season-ending knee injuries, it is fair to say that Rose is not the same player that helped lead the Bulls to their deepest postseason run three years ago. In fact, Rose seems to be a shell of the player he once was. And rather than putting pressure on his opponents by playing at a fast tempo, Rose has opted to rely more on the long-distance jump shot.

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Generated 12/11/2014.

For example, in the 13 games that Rose has played this season, he has attempted a three-point shot 45 percent of the time compared to just over 40 percent inside the paint, which marks the first time in his career this has happened. This trend is a direct contrast to his MVP season where 48 percent of his attempts were from within the painted area while only 24 percent of his attempts were from beyond the arc.

In addition that, Rose has connected on just 24 of his 77 attempts from distance this season, including a dismal 10-for-32 over the past four games. Furthermore, Rose has a career conversion rate of just 31 percent from three-point range. Taking those factors into consideration, it is puzzling to see him continue to settle for the outside shot. And although this doesn’t appear to be an effective strategy, Rose has his reasons for his shot selection as explained by ESPN’s Scott Powers:

"“I’m taking a lot, but I feel like that’s an easy shot for me, a set shot. I’m going to have a game where I’ll string in four or five of them, and it’s just going to help my confidence. I can’t stop taking those shots. They’re shots I normally take in practice, so my teammates know they’re great shots for me. It’s just, I haven’t hit four or five in a game yet.”"

But while Rose feels like settling for the outside shot doesn’t limit his effectiveness, head coach Tom Thibodeau offered a different assessment as Chicago Sun-Times’  Joe Cowley explains:

"“He’s gotta attack. That’s the bottom line. All I know is, when he’s pushing the ball up the floor and attacking, that’s who he is. He can’t defer. He can’t pace himself. He’s gotta go. That’s the big thing. He’s gotta go.”"

I will add my two cents here and say that the Bulls are a much better team when Rose is in attack mode. When you have a player who can get by his primary defender with relative ease, it forces the opponent to bring extra help, which, of course, creates open shots for the more potent long-distance shooters on the roster like Mike Dunleavy, who knocked down four three-pointers in the team’s 105-80 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Dec. 10.

Even more importantly, if Rose continues to settle for the outside shot, he is essentially helping the opposing defense because it takes less effort to contest a long-range jumper than it does to guard a player who consistently pushes the ball up the floor.

And although Rose has gotten a lot of open looks from deep, I can’t help but believe the reason for that is because teams know that he is not a great shooter from long distance. That being said, the opposing teams are more than likely to have success against the Bulls as long as Rose is camping out on the perimeter.

Case in point, last week in games against the Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets and the Golden State Warriors, more than half of Rose’s shot attempts came from long range. What was the result? The Bulls lost two of those three games.

However, in the recent outing against the Nets, Rose’s shot selection was a bit more balanced, as he scored 23 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field, including 3-for-7 from distance. And because Rose made a concerted effort to drive to the basket, the Bulls were able to cruise to an easy victory.

To be fair, I understand that Rose is still trying to figure out his role on the team because the talent level is significantly better compared to the last time he played a full season. However, if the Bulls are going to win a title in the near future, Rose has to get back to consistently doing what he does best—being aggressive.

Because as the numbers illustrate, Rose is more productive when he is attacking his opponents rather than relying on the outside jump shot.

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