Derrick Rose

Everybody who loves basketball has gotta love watching Derrick Rose.  The guy is a freakish athlete in a league of athletes.  Although sadly his knee injuries have limited, (and look to do so again) in the NBA, so far this season in the NLL, D-Rose is back to his video game best leading the league in scoring with a ridiculous 35.2 ppg.  Behind Rose, the Jazz who finished dead last in 2013/14 with a dismal 13-69 record, are actually a good team this season in perhaps the biggest rags to riches story ever in the NLL.  With 8 regular season weeks remaining they sit clear 3^rd out West with a very respectable 33-17 record.  And whilst gm merencio is gaining plaudits for his foresight in dealing away multiple role players for an injured Rose last season I am sure that he didn’t expect this big of a turnaround.

So let’s take a closer look at what Derrick has done to date.  In a nutshell he has been un-guardable, blowing by defenders with lightning speed and getting into the paint and scoring at will.  His reckless abandon, acrobatic physical style of play has meant that Rose often gets fouled at the rim and he leads the NLL in free throws made at a gaudy 8 per game.  He also ranks 8^th among all players in Points in the Paint, 3^rd among PG’s only behind Westbrook and Wall.  What perhaps is most surprising though has been his shooting beyond the 3pt line.  Not previously known as a long range bomber, Rose who is a 29% 3fg shooter for his career is averaging 2.9 3fg makes per game, the 5^th most in the NLL this season.  And he is doing so whilst shooting a very respectable 38% from downtown – easily a career best.

Whilst Utah have some nice pieces in Wiggins and Faried, the Jazz go as Rose goes.  Rose has the highest usage among all qualifying players of 38.2 – meaning more than 1/3^rd of all plays end with him.  Make no mistake the Utah Jazz are Derrick Rose’s team.  And Rose is delivering with a career year across the board leading the entire NLL with a 36.28 PER making him one of the league MVP favourites.