NBA
Only Happy Tears Should Be Shed For Derrick Rose
Halloween night seemed to be an overall retro night for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Fans got glimpses of the new city jersey for the Timberwolves, which are Minnesota’s prized musician Prince’s Purple Rain theme. They also got treated to the franchise’s most beloved retro jersey from the Kevin Garnett days in the late 90’s and early 00’s with the pine trees as the trim. The throwback thing fans probably appreciated the most though was a vintage performance by Derrick Rose.
A Night To Remember In Minnesota
Rose got the call up to start for the Timberwolves to replace Jeff Teague who was out with knee soreness. Timberwolves were also missing star wing player Jimmy Butler with “general soreness”. Backup point guard Tyus Jones even was missing the game against the Utah Jazz due to an injury. Minnesota had lost three primary ball handlers, so Rose had added pressure on him for the night.
That pressure meant nothing. First shot of the game that went for Rose was a 3-point shot, where he has struggled to hit this year. That was a good sign for him. Luckily, he didn’t fall in love with the three pointer because no one could stop him from getting to the rim.
Possession after possession, Rose was getting to the hoop, but he wasn’t always forcing the shot. He was using that chance to kick it out for 3-pointers for his teammates. Good thing for the Timberwolves is this was a night where the 3-point shot was falling for them.
Derrick Rose Took On Everything The Jazz Threw At Him
The Jazz were throwing all they had at him. They put Ricky Rubio to start on Rose, who is no pushover as a defender. Utah tried putting the taller and lengthier Dante Exum on him. However, Rose just used his veteran’s IQ to work around the young gun. At times, they even threw Donovan Mitchell on him to see what would happen. Nothing would work.
Once Rose made it past defenders on the perimeter, the Jazz still have the “Stifle Tower” and reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert, patrolling the paint. Rose showed no fear and went straight at him. Lay-ups, floaters, stop and pops, Gobert couldn’t get to Rose’s shot.
Rose also showed his former MVP self towards the end of the game. He scored eight straight points in the 4th quarter, including two clutch free throws and a game saving block on a 3-point attempt by Exum.
As the buzzer sounded, rookie Josh Okogie runs over and embraced Rose after the block and the overall game. Cue water works then. The overwhelming emotion that filled Rose couldn’t be held back longer. Towel over his eyes, heavy breathes, and bent over as teammates go over and cheer him on and congratulate him. It was a night of pure euphoria for him.
Stats of the Night
Rose ended up filling the entire stat sheet against the Jazz. He set a new career high with 50 points. He also shot 19-31 from the field and 4-7 from 3-point range. Rose also tacked on six assists, four rebounds, two steals, and a block.
Also, his outstanding performance rubbed off on Minnesota’s other two young stars in Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. This was Wiggins first game back after missing three games with a thigh contusion, but he bounced back. He had 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. Towns had continued his good play of late by scoring 28 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
The Feel Good Story of the NBA
The former 2010-11 MVP has had a bumpy career ever since winning the award at the young age of 23. Rose is the NBA’s youngest MVP of all time. He was projected to be a top talent superstar for years to come with his career. He took on teams like Lebron James’ Miami Heat squad to the brink of playoff elimination.
Sadly though, ACL and other knee injuries plagued him. Two tears in one knee and a tear in the other knee, plus numerous of other little injuries robbed him. Rose had stints on the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers before ending up in Minnesota at the end of the season for the last nine games.
He performed well in the playoffs for the Timberwolves against the Houston Rockets to get a one-year vet minimum offer from Minnesota. Rose has made sure to make the best of this contract.
He has accepted a sixth man role and the role of being the veteran influence in the locker room. Also, he’s been a bit of a safe barrier from the young guns from barking head coach Tom Thibodeau.
Players all over the league tweeted and posted on Instagram of congratulations for Rose and to show support for him. They were all happy to get a glimpse of the talent that everyone knew Rose had when he started first playing.
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