Derrick Rose: “I’m Not Going To Stop Shooting”
This season is starting to take shape for the Chicago Bulls, somewhat hitting their stride after winning 10 of their last 12. Derrick Rose has remained relatively healthy as of late, and at the very least his presence is felt on the floor. But Rose is struggling mightily with shooting the basketball. In Chicago’s home loss to Brooklyn on Tuesday he finished 2-for-15 from the field and 5-for-20 the previous night against Indiana.
Rose said this after his tough night against Brooklyn, via the Chicago Tribune:
“Terrible,” Rose said, when asked to describe his night. But Rose won’t stop shooting. “My confidence to shoot is there,” he said. “All of them were on target. They’re just not falling. I’m not going to stop shooting. If they go under (screens), I’m going to shoot the shot. I work on it enough. I just haven’t seen them go in yet.”
After going 0-for-5 from three against Brooklyn, Rose is down to a career-low three-point percentage of 26.3. He’s shooting 60 percent inside the paint.
Rose has never been considered a great shooter, but as a natural scorer he developed a pull up game (which does translate to his impeccable floater game) and got to a point where he was comfortable and confident taking shots. It was a point of emphasis for Rose to specifically work on his jump shot so he can take those looks when defenders go under screens. He’s done plenty of mechanical work with his shot since entering the league, and it just needs another fine tuning.
The Bulls do need the confidence of Rose, and being able to knock down that shot when necessary is important, but it’s worth considering just how much shooting Rose should even look to be doing these days. With Jimmy Butler ascending into possibly the best two way player in the league and the skill set of Pau Gasol now at your disposal, Rose’s volume shouldn’t have to be too high.
Still, if Derrick Rose is hitting shots, things become even more possible for the Chicago Bulls.
