By Jordan Cohn, Audacy Sports
The last time that Derrick Rose was a full-time starter was when he came to the lowly 2016-17 Knicks, scoring 18 points per game alongside Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis in the final year of the Melo era in MSG. Since then, he's been as good as anyone in the role of the bench scorer, the sixth man, the jolt of energy that comes into the game and pours in basket after basket on an unsuspecting second unit.
Could he become a starter once again, however, in his age-33 season on a contending team?
There's a little bit of speculation floating around that the starting lineup, as currently constructed, might not last for much longer. The stats help to paint the picture of why that might be the case, as does the team's 2-5 skid over their last seven.
The aforementioned Rose makes a strong case to be a moving piece if such a change were to occur, and the statistics help to paint this picture as well. One advanced metric in particular ? FiveThirtyEight's all-encompassing RAPTOR, or Robust Algorithm (using) Player Tracking (and) On/Off Ratings ? shows the veteran's production in about as positive a light as possible. It should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody that Nikola Jokic is leading the league in total RAPTOR, with a +14.2 rating. But in second place, and above names like Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant, is none other than Rose at +12.0. Another metric that's probably more familiar to you, WAR, has Rose tied for fifth in the NBA with Paul George and Miles Bridges at 2.2. Pretty much however you frame it, Rose has been a more effective and dynamic player for the Knicks than many of the starters, at least based on box score statistics.
Rose ranks second on the team in points per 36 minutes (20.4), trailing only Julius Randle, and leads in some other key categories, like Value Over Replacement Player (0.4) and box plus/minus (3.3). He's also doing this while landing outside the top five in minutes player per game, which shows just how impactful he's been when on the court. Whether or not he gets an uptick in playing time is something that will be worth watching, but it might not be the worst idea to make a change sooner rather than later, especially if these statistical trends continue.
https://www.audacy.com/sports/nba/advanced-stat-ranks-derrick-rose-second-in-the-whole-nba
StatMuse
@statmuse
Knicks +/- from best to worst:
+110 ? Derrick Rose (3rd in NBA)
+67 ? Obi Toppin
+67 ? Immanuel Quickley
+43 ? Alec Burks
+32 ? Nerlens Noel
.
.
.
-36 ? Evan Fournier
-44 ? Julius Randle
-45 ? RJ Barrett
-52 ? Mitchell Robinson
-89 ? Kemba Walker (11th worst in NBA)
