Derrick Rose has been impactful in small doses through two games for the Knicks, even with a lessened workload due to the addition of $104 million starting point guard Jalen Brunson.
Coming off a season shortened by multiple ankle surgeries, Rose netted 11 of his 13 points in a five-minute stint off the bench bridging the first two quarters of Friday’s blowout win over the Pistons in the Knicks’ home opener.
But the former league MVP also is his own worst critic, as evidenced by his answer when asked how comfortable he’s felt in his first two regular-season appearances since last December.
“This too shall pass. This is probably the worst you see me play,” Rose said after logging 16 minutes in Friday’s win. “I don’t play pickup. I’m feeling out the games, trying not to mess up the game by being out there and being too aggressive. Just feeling out who’s out there and who is with me.”
Led by Rose’s early scoring burst and overall ball distribution (six assists) and Immanuel Quickley’s team-high 20 points, the Knicks’ high-tempo second unit outscored the Pistons’ primary five reserves by a whopping 46 points (61-15).
Tom Thibodeau, who also was Rose’s former coach in Chicago and Minnesota, thought the 15-year veteran’s play was “terrific,” even if the three-time All-Star wasn’t as effusive in his self-evaluation.
“Like I said, this too shall pass,” Rose repeated when asked to elaborate on what he meant by saying this was the “worst” he could play. “I can’t get too high, can’t get too low. Even if things are rolling, this is still is my second game.
“I’m not trying to downplay my play but understanding that I still got to get my timing on, my jump shot, still got to get my timing on. I’m working all the time to get my timing. … I’m kind of out of rhythm on certain plays. But it’s gonna come the more I play.”
Thibodeau had implored the 34-year-old Rose to shed nearly 20 pounds in the offseason, and the three-time All-Star obliged the request, even showing up shirtless to his first press conference of training camp.
Rose totaled just 33 minutes in three preseason appearances, and he played 12 (with four points) minutes in the Knicks’ season-opening overtime loss in Memphis.
“I’m letting Thibs dictate that. I didn’t talk to him at all about it,” said Rose, who nailed three of four 3-point attempts against the Pistons. “My job is to just be vocal and try to express what I see on the court. As far as minutes, I don’t worry about it because of the saying, ‘if you stay ready, you don’t got to get ready.’ That’s my mindset.”
Brunson’s presence enables Thibodeau to take it slow with Rose post-surgery. The new starter has averaged 32 minutes in the first two games, with 32 points, 15 assists and zero turnovers entering Game 3 on Monday against the Magic at the Garden.
“My job is to push the pace. If not, take me out and put somebody in that can fulfill the job. I’m not worried about minutes, never worried about minutes,” Rose said. “It’s what’s better for the team. It could be Deuce [second-year guard Miles McBride]. It could be times that I don’t play. Who cares? As long as we win, I don’t care.”
McBride didn’t get off the bench in the season opener, and he logged just three minutes late in Friday’s blowout. Rose, Quickley, Cam Reddish, Obi Toppin and imported center Isaiah Hartenstein have comprised the highly productive second unit, with second-year wing Quentin Grimes missing the first two games with a foot injury.
“We need that from our bench,” Thibodeau said after Friday’s game. “I thought they played well together. They played well as a group, and that was the most pleasing thing. … I love the way our bench played.”