Wednesday, December 28th, 2011 at 12:40 pm  |  58 responses

Derrick Rose to Start Taking More Shots Early in Games


Derrick Rose came into the season looking to lay in the weeds and set up his teammates at the start of games, but that strategy isn’t working out very well for the Chicago Bulls so far. Rose promises to change this approach. From the Tribune: “We have to get our offense going so we can get easy baskets,’ Rose said. ‘That’s what I’m real concerned about. Last year, we rarely got easy baskets. This year, we have to find a way.’ During training camp, Rose had talked about deferring more, particularly with the addition of Richard Hamilton. Look for that to change Thursday in Sacramento. ‘In the first quarter I have to establish myself a little more,’ Rose said. ‘I see that being laid-back is just not doing it. I think both games in the first quarter I shot the ball just one or two times. So next game, I have to change it up.’ Rose is 1-for-4 in the first quarters of the first two games. More alarming, he has attempted just four free throws in the first two games and went the first six quarters without going to the line once. ‘I have to push the ball, get to the rim, be more aggressive,’ Rose said. ‘We tend to slow the ball down a little bit, getting a feel for how we’re playing. I really haven’t caught on to it yet.’”

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  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    good. I never liked the, get other guys involved first mentality some star players have at the beginning of games. Get your team in a natural rhythm. If your the primary scorer and that’s what your teammates are used too, then do that.

  • fruizm

    He was so passive at the beginning of last game against the Warriors…but at the end, he was going head to head against Monta!!!

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Cue the “Rose is a ballhog/shooting guard” comments.

  • http://www.nyill.wordpress.com Enigmatic

    Sadly, that might be the only comment of mine that shows up today. Unless this one does too.
    I would prefer him to start going off earlier in games too, instead of waiting until the Bulls are being buried alive and he has to claw them back out of it.

  • http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_history.html Allenp

    I think he needs to avoid an either/or attitude.
    Look at Steph and Monta. Both of them score, both of them pass. You can do both all the time.

  • http://www.slamonline.com SpaceJam

    WE need it because like he said, this approach really isn’t working

  • dahon

    very good point allenp

  • LA Huey

    He’s not a pass first player and shouldn’t try to be one. He should attack and if the defense collapses, hit the open man. Boozer’s a bum. Lu can find a way to get his so long as he continues to move well off the ball. Joakim can get his off of those “Kobe Bryant Assists” (aka offensive rebounds).

  • shutup

    translation- I’m surrounded by guys that cant score, I’m sick of guys messing up my assists, I’ll just do it myself.

  • T-Money

    he should chill on that 3-ball, 14 3PA in 2 games?

  • williehobbes

    lol @ “Kobe Bryant Assists”

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Rose is a ballhog/shooting guard.

  • shutup

    watch out nbk is gonna jump down your throat if you say he should play the 2, he will vehemently disagree with even the notion. I still think the 2 spot would be perfect for him ala Allen Iverson/ Eric Snow

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    He won’t attack the rim and try to get to the line but he’s willing to stand on the 3pt line and chuck up 3 after 3? Somebody needs to remind Rose that he’s not a good 3pt shooter and probably will never be one, so stick to what you do best (attack the rim like a demon)

  • http://www.nyill.wordpress.com Enigmatic

    Rose ain’t no 2, Shutup. He’s never ever played the position, even when backup CJ Watson is in the game with him.
    This idea that Rose should be a shooting guard because he’s a great scorer is wack. How does he get most of his points? Not by playing off the ball, I can tell you that much.
    T-Money, I agree with you, he’s falling in love with the 3 too much. It’s cool when he’s hot from there like he was against the Lakers, but 1 for 8 against Golden State was not a good look.

  • Gametimeweezy

    DRose makes it look so easy but he really does get the toughest buckets in the game right now. I’m not really sure how getting it going quicker translates into easy buckets though, he just doesn’t have anybody that can run with him yet.

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Rose is a point guard. The idea that he should play the 2 is stupid. It makes zero basketball sense.

  • ctkennedy

    If he dont win nothing which he wont…i hope he gets the same hate as StephonMarbury…Marbury was n the same boat without as good a team

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    negrodamus, is that you?

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    n*grodamus, is that you?

  • shutup

    lmao, wasnt even tryin to argue the point. Iverson never played the position either, and I verson didnt play off the ball either, even though Snow was their pg. It was more of a hybrid situation, nvm, like i said was just warning him that you would start insulting people if the topic was brought up…..

  • http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_history.html Allenp

    One of the issues with the Bulls is that their coach does not believe you can sustain defensive greatness if you play at a high pace. They have the pieces and the depth to run. But, lots of coaches in the League today don’t like running because they believe it leads to more turnovers and bad defense. Plus, if the players are just flowing and making decisions, it can be harder for people to realize how much “coaching” is occuring. Back in the day, when Russell and Wilt and West and Oscar were hooping, teams with talent didn’t call a whole bunch of set plays. They made a couple passes, did a couple of cuts, and got a shot up.
    The Bulls could be a very dangerous running team. They have athletes, and they have the best finisher at the one in the League. Imagine if they just cut Rose loose all game long and encouraged him to attack early and often. It’s weird how the League has gotten so much more athletic, yet coaches are less and less comfortable with running. It just goes against reason.

  • http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_history.html Allenp

    Nah, Iverson played the two with Snow. They ran plays, down screens and the like, to get him shots. Now, most of his offense came off the bounce and in isolations, but he was clearly the two guard.
    He was the point guard before and after Larry Brown though.

  • Matt Park

    He really should get into a more aggressive mindset early on. Good things happen when he penetrates. I was really hating how he come off a ball screen and just pass it, not even stepping past the three-point line sometimes.

  • T-Money

    coaches are control freaks. guys like mike fratello back in the day would drive me crazy. it takes confidence to not call a play every time down the court and it’s why some people still don’t respect phil jax. they’re fools for that but still…

  • http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_history.html Allenp

    Well as the money and media scrutiny have increased, the job security has decreased. If your job is on the line, I guess you want to be the one making all the decisions, right? Same thing is true in college.

  • shutup

    Obv on paper Snow ran the 1 but in reality the ball was in iversons hands the majority of the time, it blurred the line between 1 & 2 (ex. not all plays started with the ball in snows hand as he generally passed it off when crossing halfcourt), I dont see why that wouldnt work with Rose.

  • ThaWindy

    Just relax and let the game dictate what needs to be done.

  • ctkennedy

    they had EricSnow without the ball handlin but better spacin with Bogans right?….r we sayin they need Bogans back …irony for your @ss

  • ctkennedy

    they had EricSnow without the ball handlin but better spacin with Bogans right?….r we sayin they need Bogans back …irony for you

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Snow set up plays, and guarded 2′s. Rose doesn’t have the same game as Iverson, not even close. They are both fast and good off the dribble, that’s where their similarities stop. Iverson was a scorer, top to bottom, his offensive game was focused on scoring everything else came second. Rose is a playmaker, primarily a penetrator. He scores and shoots so much now because he is the best option for his team. Never has he been on a team with a better scorer and shot more shots then that person. Rose has played PG his whole life, he understands the position and has played different roles within it. Iverson was a scorer his whole life, he played multiple positions, but always had the same role. Just because they are small players who are good at scoring doesn’t mean they are the same, or even close.

  • Red

    ctk you’re a moron.

  • ctkennedy

    @Red ill be a moron ..internet gangster…Lls

  • ctkennedy

    Rose is a more selfish player than yall sayin …he dont want help knowin he need it..he just dont act like it to the public

  • Gametimeweezy

    Iverson was a 2 but how was he not a playmaker? are you talking about assist totals opposed to points per game? How about steals? Iverson had a hall of fame career off being an offensive and defensive playmaker. But yea they are definately a different type of player. Rose is more of a pure pg.

  • http://nyill.wordpress.com Enigmatic

    SMH…
    ctkennedy- because the kid is loyal to his teammates and won’t recruit other players that makes him selfish?
    I agree it would be nice if he was more open to getting at a Dwight Howard or LeBron James last summer, but that’s not his style.
    To him, reaching out to Howard or James is equal to slapping Joakim Noah and Luol Deng in the face, and that’s not his style.
    Trust, it’s not because he wants to be the only star or anything like that.
    If anything I think he’d prefer being a second option, if for example he played with a Kevin Durant he would thrive in that role, and he knows it, but he’d still be unwilling to throw one of his teammates under the bus for a chance to play with a dude like that.

  • Red

    Internet gangster? Did I threaten to shoot u dummy? Wtf is “lls” you 12 year old girl. You must know Rose personally lol moron.

  • JTaylor21

    Until Rose starts to attack the opposing defenses on a regular basis the Bulls will always be a team that is consider a teaser, not a contender. You don’t win championships when your team is built around a score first point guard who doesn’t have a grasp of his own strengths and weaknesses. If he attacked the rim more it would mean easier shots for himself, as well as his teammates. Instead Rose continues to take uneccessary shots from behind the arc when easier shots are available for him and his teammates. Rose would get more trips to the free throw line as well if he attacked the rim more, which helps get the other team in the penalty earlier. Until his game matures the Iverson comparisons will be there. He may be a point guard but he’s playing with AI mentality. If Rose don’t change he’s just another million dollar talent and 10 cent head, a la Steve Francis.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Enigmatic, I hear you but sometimes star players gotta call out struggling teammates *cough booooozer cough*. That’s what leaders do and Rose as the bulls’ leader has to call out Boozer at all cost or the bulls will suffer the same fate in the playoffs.

  • Red

    Rose is fine JTaylor, an MVP says so. I think he knows his skill set better than you do, just sit there & act like u know(you don’t).

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    gametime, don’t confuse saying a person “primarily” does one thing with saying a person “doesn’t do something” – You can be a primarily a shooter, who plays solid defense and is very good on the boards (mike miller), just like you can be primarily a scorer, who also makes plays and creates for others (Iverson), just like you can be a playmaker, who also scores individually (Rose).

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    3:51 wasn’t me.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    i thought that was obvious.

  • Red

    My bad then JT…LOL I fail :(

  • http://www.slamonline.com J

    One thing. Rose should NOT be shooting 8 attempts on the 3 in a game. IMO He should milk that mid-range floater for the next decade or so.. He left away with that shot a little because of his new found range in his J, which is no bad but still.. That’s an almost unstoppable weapon.

  • feez_22

    I hate to bring other stars into this convo about rose but i have to. Since rose won MVP it is time to measure him up to other stars. Now i have 2 compare him to lebron here. Lebron like rose are STREAKY AT BEST 3pt shooters (yes they shoot around 35-40% on threes but they are streaky nonetheless). when they are on, they are ON. when they are off, they are totally 1-9 lol. What has lebron done in the first 3 games? he hasn’t shot a 3. a guy that shoots 35-37% from there hasn’t shot one. wade as well. both are slashing players like rose whom are playing closer to the basket shooting more efficient shots. Look at the high percentage volume shooting guards. most of them are midrange and in players. Thats what rose needs 2 focus on. obviously if there is a open 3 he should take it but no force. rose forces that 3pt shot way too often. the best guards in the game today even the ones that aren’t streaky from 3 (nash, paul, williams) don’t force that shot. all 3 play well from midrange in. rose’s turn to do that. BTW… rose needs to learn how to sell fouls. its all fine and dandy being a tough guy going into the paint and doing a million shot variations before he puts the ball in… its time to stick it and drive str8 into the opponent. sure he’ll get some charges but he is an EXCELLENT ft shooter. time to exploit that.

    I am actually liking rose’s initial approach to this season. I just don’t like carlos boozer. Carlos sucks. its that simple. Amare and Bosh were more coveted for a reason. Ya bosh is tissue paper soft but imagine what kind of real pressure release he would have given rose… Instead u have popcorn muscles boozer whom is soft as a feather and is at his best cutting to the basket. not even that great on the low post. SMH

  • shutup

    ok if it would make you feel better then the bulls could use a “2″ guard to stop the fast break handle the ball primarily and defer to rose every possesion.Quote – “primarily a scorer, who also makes plays and creates for others (Iverson), just like you can be a playmaker, who also scores individually (Rose)”— they seem pretty similiar to me except you said one is a play maker and the other makes plays.

  • bt

    perhaps you should work on the quality of your shots rather than the quantity derrick

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    I said one is primarily a playmaker. And the other a scorer. What’s hard to understand?

  • ctkennedy

    @red ….i love the tuff talk…too bad we will never cross paths to see if u bout it

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