Derrick Rose’s Defense

Numerous times, I have heard people saying Derrick Rose is pretty weak on D. That’s true… He is weak and needs a lot of improvement… But I don’t see that being worse or worst at all… The block on Rajon Rondo on Game 6 of the 1st Round? The chasedown block on Andre Miller? A steal off an entry pass? He can do those things but pretty much, I would say Derrick is an opportunistic defender… He only takes advantage of it once he knows that there is a huge probability that he could make a steal or make a block on a player… I would like to compare his situation with the likes of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant… These guys weren’t born to be good defenders but as we saw their game elevate, we started to see how hard they worked to improve their defense. Take note, LeBron was criticized as a weak defender early in his NBA Career stating that all he does was set plays and score and jam… Look at LBJ now, a scary player who will chase you down on a fast break and embarass you once you attempt a lay-up. Kobe was not known as a defender in his young days… He was more of a showboat ready to come off the bench or a scorer who lifted the Lakers by scoring 40 or 50 a night. Look at Kobe now, he is one of the best perimeter defender in the league. He showcased it during the Olympics by shutting down the best player on the other teams. Carmelo was known as a scorer that does nothing but score and score… Look at him now, he plays with a lot of aggression on defense and seized a lot of steals in the post… They have vastly improved their skills while training in the NBA… I can say much with Derrick Rose on hand. I believe that he will be a good defensive player down the road. If he won’t, I will be extremely disappointed. But I feel optimistic about Derrick Rose’s development in terms of his defense for 3 main reasons: The first is his willingness to be taught and his always wanting to improve. Derrick is pretty much a coachable player and has no problem following orders from the coach. This kind of attitude will allow him to improve not just on his defensive ability but on his offensive awareness. Second, he has the skills, the speed and the very good potential to be a very good player on the defensive end… His quickness is uncanny and he can definitely use it to snatch the ball a couple of times every game… Right now, I see him as a defender that only do well if there is a possible situation and he may improve when he does it consistently in all 82 games… The third factor would be the surrounding teammates and coaches that he is in. Kirk Hinrich is a pretty excellent and pesky defender. He is underrated but he showed how pesky he is when he guards the like of Rip, Wade and Pierce. Lindsey Hunter was signed for one more year for one reason and that is to help Derrick develop into a defensive force. As we all know, Hunter has been one of the best defensive point guards in the league and with tons of experience under his belt, he may very well help Derrick. Randy Brown… When Randy Brown was hired as a director of player development, I was so sure that he’s going to put his focus more on Rose more than anyone. After all, they share the same position and they both are quick but the thing about Randy was he was one of the best pickpocketers back in the Bulls dynasty. He can definitely give some mentoring on the young Rose who will definitely get some ideas off from these veteran players and coach. To see D-Rose as a defensive player, it is possible but one thing we’ll remember about him is that he is definitely one of the fastest rising star in the NBA today.