Derrick Rose didn’t return to the New York Knicks with a bang, but it was hardly a whimper.
Rose scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, playing all 20 of his minutes alongside rookie standout Immanuel Quickley. On the down side, the Knicks were edged by the Miami Heat, 98-96.
But Rose showed that he can be a fit and help the Knicks get to where they want to go — the playoffs. Rose suggested his familiarity with coach Tom Thibodeau will play a role in helping him be at his best.
“The synergy we’ve got, I can’t explain it,” Rose said. “We’re an odd couple, but for some reason, we understand the game. And the closest thing I probably can say is we’re students of the game. We watch the game. We try to understand the game more and try to get better if not every day, every week, every month, every couple of months, every year. There’s always room for improvement, and it’s for the betterment of the team.”
With Rose, Quickley and starting point guard Elfrid Payton, Thibodeau likes how the Knicks (11-15) have an abundance of ball-handlers, shot-makers and shot-creators in the backcourt.
“I think you see it often when you have multiple point guards out on the floor, it gives you another ball handler, secondary ball handler, and you can probably include Alec [Burks] in there as well,” Thibodeau said.
“So it gives us three guys that can go off the dribble, and all three are very efficient in pick and rolls. Their versatility allows them to actually blend with both groups. So I think we’ll see some of that as we go forward as well.”
The Knicks are in action again Friday night at Washington.
