Derrick Rose Finds His Shot In The 4th Quarter
By Cody Westerlund-
CHICAGO (CBS) – As the clock dwindled under 40 seconds and the Bulls pushed the ball across half-court, coach Tom Thibodeau furiously waved his arms, signaling the play with Chicago holding a 100-97 lead against Denver on Thursday night at the United Center.
It was time to isolate point guard Derrick Rose.
About 15 seconds later, Rose put the game on ice, his stepback 21-foot jumper over Arron Afflalo's outstretched arm serving as a final dagger. As he retreated back down the court, Rose gave a long staredown toward the Nuggets bench.
"I heard the coaches saying something," Rose said after Chicago's 106-101 win moved it to 23-10. "I was just caught up in the game."
Rose added that the sideline yapping wasn't trash talk so much as an explanation of how to defend him. To understand why the moment felt significant to Rose, all you had to do was trace back the previous 11 quarters he'd played.
After shooting a combined 7-of-35 in his past two games, Rose was an abysmal 2-of-14 for just four points through three quarters Thursday. It was one of the worst shooting slumps of Rose's career, and though he kept his spirits up throughout in emphasizing he would keep firing away, the competitor in him gnawed to come through for his teammates.
"I've never questioned him, because I know what kind of competitor his is," Joakim Noah said.
Chicago's belief in Rose was rewarded after he checked back in for the final 7:49, as he scored 13 of his 17 points in that stretch. That included not only the late stepback jumper but also a driving layup, a pair of floaters and a 3-pointer, as he shot 5-of-11 in the frame.
The final 7-of-25 shooting tally still was ugly, but there was at last a sense of relief.
"It's really my teammates giving me that confidence," Rose said. "Even ... when you're missing shots like I am the last couple games, teammates are still giving me the ball, still talking to me, giving me confidence, telling me to shoot the ball, still giving me the ball in position to shoot the ball. I'm fortunate."
Rose was firm in saying he didn't attack any differently in the fourth quarter, but Thursday did feel different in one way. His shot selection was more properly balanced, even if the ball didn��t fall much. In a season in which he's attempting 3-pointers at a higher rate (5.4 per game) than ever in his career while making just 26 percent of them, Rose was 1-of-3 from long range Thursday.
Asked if he ever had thoughts of passing more during his shooting struggles, Rose referenced that those who have achieved the most in the game's history don't change their mentality in hard times.
"My mentality is not going to change," Rose said. "I'm going to shoot the ball. I'm a scoring guard. And it's mid-range. It's ain't like I'm shooting nothing but threes. Tonight they didn't go in, but at the end, some of them did."
Thibodeau also had minimal worry over Rose's slump, saying he "just has to work his way out of it." After a season of preaching to Rose to go into attack mode, Thibodeau's not going to rein him in.
"If they're the right shots," Thibodeau said when asked if he liked Rose shooting 25 times. "I want him to be aggressive, and I want him attacking. I thought that's what got him going – the two layups off penetration (in the third quarter). That got us going. Even when he missed a couple that were great moves, because there are two or three guys coming at him, we're going to get a putback on those. Three of the four things are all positive (make, trip to free-throw line, putback).
"When he gets in that mode of attacking, it's great for our team."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
