Defenses beware: Rose developing outside shot
A Bulls rookie might encourage more communication among Chicagoans this winter. When stumped for a conversation starter, a good option could be, "Did you see what Derrick Rose did last night?"
During Saturday's 104-91 victory over Indiana at the United Center, Rose unveiled a couple new weapons in his arsenal, including one that is bound to send shivers into opposing scouts.
Rose, generally regarded as a poor outside shooter, knocked down 3 of 5 shots from 3-point range against the Pacers. And these weren't garbage time baskets. He drilled two in a row from long range to put the Bulls ahead to stay after they had fallen behind 67-64 with 4:19 left in the third quarter.
"They're giving it to me; I'd be a fool not to shoot it," Rose said. "My teammates want me to shoot it. If I don't shoot, they'll yell at me or tell coach to get me out of the game. The more they back off, the more I'm going to shoot it."
Rose can already drive to the hoop and finish at the rim as well as any 6-foot-2 guard in the league. If defenders have to respect his outside shot on top of that, Rose will be nearly impossible to guard.
Rose has been working on his outside shot relentlessly, in part because he wants to beat teammates like Ben Gordon, Demetris Nichols and Luol Deng in post-practice shooting contests.
"I hate to lose," Rose said with a laugh. "We had contests today in practice and my team lost all three of them, but we'll win some next time."
Rose finished with 23 points, 8 assists and 3 rebounds - a nice stat line that has already become routine.
"He is an all-star in the making," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "He is a rookie who is going to blossom sooner than many people think."
In the fourth quarter, Rose turned in two more breathtaking plays. He caught a defensive rebound under the basket and barely moved before heaving a downcourt strike to Larry Hughes at the opposite foul line for a fastbreak lay in.
A few seconds later, Gordon found Rose ahead of the pack, and the No. 1 draft pick did a chin up on the rim as he tossed down a dunk that put the Bulls ahead 98-86 with 4:47 remaining.
Andres Nocioni had a nice game, adding 20 points and 11 rebounds. Gordon (19 points) and Deng (17 points) did not shoot well, but found points at the foul line.
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