At the end of yesterday’s Bulls vs. Knicks game, a selfish and bad shot sunk the Bulls. The first was a drive to the basket in which Derrick Rose was blocked. The second was a contested three point shot. The Gordon play wasn’t that bad, as the Bulls were looking Gordon to bail them out with a three at that point. We’ve seen him hit three pointers in the past. The play just looked so bad because Gordon missed so poorly.
However, the Derrick Rose play should have gone differently. Derrick Rose needs to learn that it’s not always about making the big shot, it’s just about making the big play. The Christmas Day Game between the Spurs and Suns would be good viewing material for Derrick Rose. First, Amare Stoudemire made a pass to Grant Hill for an easy lay in with 4 seconds left. The play that was to come, was very similar to the play that unfolded in New York yesterday. Tony Parker drove to the basket, met help defense, and dished it to the wide open Roger Mason Jr. who sunk the open three.
As you can see by the screen cap below, Derrick Rose has Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, and Kirk Hinrich all wide open.
Derrick Rose ignored three wide open teammates at the end of the Knicks Game.
The logical play would have been to make a bounce pass to Gordon in the corner. Gordon would have then had a chance at a wide open three to give the Bulls a two point lead. Ben Gordon is the guy you want shooting the big shot if Derrick Rose is covered, as he was on this play. If Duhon was to rotate over, Gordon would just swing the ball to Kirk Hinrich, who would take the three.
Another option that Rose could have taken, would have been to twist in the air to throw a pass to Deng in the corner. Deng hit two crucial threes in the Cleveland game from the same spot.
Hopefully Derrick learns from this experience, and begins looking to make the big play during the clutch and not necessarily the big shot.
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