What a healthy Derrick Rose means to Knicks for 2022-23 season

Ask a Knicks fan what the biggest difference will be between this year’s and last year’s teams, and they’ll likely point to the addition of Jalen Brunson or potential development of RJ Barrett and some of the other prospects. But one of the keys to New York’s bounce-back is the return of one Derrick Rose, who only appeared in 26 games last season due to right ankle issues.

While it’s easier to consider him an afterthought given Brunson’s arrival and the improving games of Immanuel Quickley and Miles McBride, Rose has always been critical to this team’s makeup and will be again this season. Both he and the coaching staff see it that way, with the latter challenging him to slim down into 2022-23 and Rose coming into training camp at his rookie-year weight.

A healthy Rose means the Knicks have a true shot creator that can penetrate any defense from the guard position, something they’ve lacked before signing Brunson. New York was a mediocre 11-14 before trading for Rose two seasons ago, and went 30-17 from there. Their offense was 25th at the time of the trade, scoring 106.9 points per 100 possessions, and 16th following to the tune of 111.9 points.

Even in last year’s limited moments, it was clear how impactful Rose was. Nearly every member of the roster is more efficient with him in the game. His pace and ability to get into the paint does wonders to an otherwise clunky offense.

How will this factor into this year’s Knicks? Brunson may be the better solution to these problems, but having Rose there to back him up is essential.

For one, injuries can strike at any time and having a playmaker at the ready in case of emergencies will keep the offense humming without all its weapons. There’s also added chemistry between many core Knicks and Rose, having played with him since early 2021.

Assuming a full roster, Rose will come off the bench with Quickley in the other guard spot. This pairing worked wonders together in the past as each could create with or without the ball, constantly leveraging defenses.

Not only should we see more of it, but an improved version. Having a real point guard in Brunson means Rose doesn’t have to be head coach Tom Thibodeau’s first sub, and he can pair him with Quickley more consistently. We saw this play out to a tee in their first preseason game.

Factor in improvements to Quickley and the bench unit as a whole, and Rose’s job is certain to get easier. Defenses can’t hyper-focus on him with improved wing depth around him in Quentin Grimes and Cam Reddish, plus a more offensively gifted big man in Isaiah Hartenstein.

Rose has been plenty efficient for the Knicks, hitting over 40 percent of his threes and shooting fairly from two, but there’s reason to believe he’ll be even better. With Brunson in the fold, Rose shouldn’t have to play the 30 minutes a night he did for some stretches, a tough ask for a 34-year-old.

The Knicks would even be wise to pair him and Brunson in some lineups, maximizing their offensive dynamism. Having two creators that can blow by people with ease would create many easy opportunities for the likes of Barrett and Julius Randle, which can help this Knicks offense finally get out of the gutter.

Rose’s return also bolsters the Knicks chances in crunch time.

They went 15-21 in games within five points with three minutes remaining, with the worst net rating in the league by a mile, in a Rose-less 2021-22 campaign. Compare this to 2021’s 19-15 record and strong crunch time performance.

There were obviously reasons beyond Rose, but his skillset is invaluable in the clutch, when the offense bogs down and on-demand shot creation can swing a game.

There are obstacles to him being that guy again, but he’s been in the league and in competitive games longer than anybody on the roster. That experience goes a long way.

If the Knicks are going to make noise in the East this year, it’ll take every member of the roster playing up to their potential. Rose is ready to remind folks just how instrumental he is to winning Knicks basketball.