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If the way Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose has recently been balling seems familiar to you, let me help you out. The Bulls point guard and MVP front-runner has rehashed memories of Allen Iverson circa 2001. The similarities between the two are striking.
For starters, both are guards drafted No. 1 overall — Rose in 2008, Iverson in 1996 — and are face-of-the-franchise type players, with the expectations of a city and team resting on every floater through the lane and every no look dish.
Iverson’s presence signified a return to relevance for the Philadelphia 76ers, and now with Rose leading the Baby Bulls, fans in Chicago are sensing a new era of Bulls basketball — one they’ve been longing for since Jordan’s final title run.
Iverson was able to get his Sixers to the Finals during his MVP season in 2000-2001. As it stands today, Rose has his team atop a very competitive Eastern Conference and in prime position to represent it in the finals.
The likeness though, goes beyond the situations the two have been respectively placed in. It isn’t hard to remember what AI was like in his prime. Although he was undersized, there was a fearlessness about his game, evident every time he drove the lane. Not since Iverson has a guard so aggressively and relentlessly attacked the rim like D. Rose.
With their quickness, burst and vision, all they need is one crossover and an inch of daylight. Once they are committed to the hoop, it’s buckets, regardless of who stands in the lane.
The only difference is three inches of height which means most of the time, when Iverson took it to the hoop, it resulted in a finger roll or a kiss off the glass. Rose finishes more like a pint-sized Blake Griffin. Rose may not be as prolific a scorer as AI, but he isn’t far off the pace. After three seasons, AI averaged 24 points per game. Rose’s career average right now is 20 per game, although for the season he ranks in the top-five of the list in scoring with 25 ppg this year.
Offensively, Rose plays the game eerily similar to Iverson, and not just from a scoring perspective. Rose entered the league as a pass first, shoot second type of player. He averaged 16 points and 6.3 assists per game as a rookie.
But now, two years later, his scoring average is up nearly 10 points per game, and his assist totals have increased by almost two dimes per — from 6.3 up to 7.9. Rose’s evolution as a scorer has only increased his ability to become a better all-around offensive player. His explosiveness as a scorer and ability as a passer now has teams finding it as hard to defend Rose as they did Iverson in his heyday.
In fact, because of his athleticism, Rose may bring more to the table than Iverson.
Rose has channeled his inner “Answer” in his third year now. He is able to control the game like Iverson could, and now he can take it over and finish like Iverson used to. It is well documented that Rose attacks the basket like it owes him cash, but the most impressive part of his development has been as an outside shooter.
He’s being asked to shoot and score more often and still maintains a .439 field goal percentage. That number is down from his previous two seasons but it can be attributed to the fact that he is taking tougher shots. Throughout his first two seasons combined, he only made 32-three point shots on 132 total attempts. This season, he has made 112 on 337 attempts, increasing that percentage from the first two years, to year three by 90 points beyond the arc. His percentage from the foul line has skyrocketed to 85 percent, compared to last year’s 76 percent.
The knock on Iverson was that he was a regular season guy. He never was able to win a ring and only reached the Finals once. Rose hopes that is where the similarities end. A magnificent year is beginning to take shape, and the Bulls are gaining confidence with each and every W.
As they position themselves for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, their aspirations are at the whim of their 22-year-old native Chicagoian.
What is most scary is that Rose is still learning the game and tapping into his limitless potential. He should win the MVP this year, like Iverson did in 2001; but Rose has the potential to become an even better player than AI was.
Playoff basketball is what defines a legacy. What separates great players from iconic ones. Rose will get that opportunity this year, and a world title would mean a lot in his effort to distinguish himself among that select group of iconic players.
Bangor Daily News