As Team USA prepares for its quarterfinals matchup against Slovenia tomorrow, Derrick Rose‘s poor play at the FIBA World Cup continues to be a prominent subplot. Last week, Rose remained positive about his play. Over the weekend, Team USA assistant coach and Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau defended his point guard. Today, Rose spoke a bit more about his performance at the tournament so far.
Via K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, Rose is very confident that better things are ahead in this tournament:
DRose: "Tomorrow is going to be a different game. I think I found it now. Just changed one little thing." What? "You'll see tomorrow."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) September 8, 2014
On Saturday against Mexico, Rose missed all five of his field goal attempts and is now shooting just 21.6 percent from the field at the FIBA World Cup. Despite the inefficiency shooting the ball, Rose was quick to point out the differences between his role with Team USA and with the Bulls:
DRose: "Everybody is getting mad because I’m not shooting the ball more. That’s strange. This role doesn't affect my role with the Bulls."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) September 8, 2014
DRose: "When I came back the first time, I didn’t look right forcing anything. It was the same thing, like, ‘Why aren’t you making shots?’"
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) September 8, 2014
DRose: "Teams are going under (screens) on me. In the NBA, I would shoot every time. Here, I have to give the ball up and give guys touches"
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) September 8, 2014
In 10 games last season, Rose struggled to find his rhythm and shot just 35.4 percent from the field. For his career, he’s a 46.0 percent shooter. He does make a great point about his bench role with Team USA versus his role with Chicago, where he is the starting point guard playing significant minutes as a primary option in the team’s offense.
I still think that as long as Rose makes it through the tournament without a significant injury, the experience will be positive — no matter the results. It’s a chance for him to get a head start on competitive basketball before the preseason. It seems Rose is taking the same approach:
DRose quotes may make him sound defensive, but he's actually amused by the passive talk. Said goals are conditioning, defense, floor game.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) September 8, 2014
Even Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski wants to see Rose be more assertive when he’s on the floor:
Coach K on Rose: "He’s trying to get everyone else involved. He looks for his stuff 5th, 6th, 7th. We need him to look at it like he’s 1, 2.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) September 8, 2014
Team USA will face Slovenia tomorrow, and we’ll see if all of this criticism regarding Rose’s play will motivate him to come out and have his best game of the tournament so far.
What do you think?
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