Derrick Rose In Rookie Sophomore Game Recap

February 14th, 2009 by Andrew Wamboldt

Derrick Rose didn’t have a spectacular game in his first Allstar event of his NBA career. It’s not that he was bad in the competition, he was just being Derrick Rose. He played exactly as he plays for the Bulls and unfortunately, that isn’t that conducive to great play during an event like this. Still, Rose did finish with 4 points and 7 assists.

It would have been nice to see the Rookies get out and run a little more, but when players gave the ball to Rose, players often didn’t run the court, and often times, they wouldn’t even outlet the ball to Rose to initiate the fast break.

The Rookies actually looked really good tonight, it looked like they were going to win for awhile. But the Sophomore surged back, led by Kevin Durant, and got the win for the Sophomores.

This year’s game was a little bit different than past games. There was actually defense being played. I think a large part of this had to do with Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade being the coaches of the teams. These are two competitive guys, and both wanted to win this game. Unfortunately for Wade, he was coaching the rookies, who began to have defensive lapses late in the game.

Kevin Durant gained MVP honors for his 46 points performance. Durant was by far the best player on the floor and used an arsenal of offensive moves to score at will on the Rookies. His 46 points are the most ever scored in the Rookie-Sophomore game, or any Allstar Weekend event for that matter.

The second overall pick in the draft, Michael Beasley, had a great game, scoring 29 points. Beasley showed off his great offensive skills, and really carried the Rookies on his back for a bit in the second half. One had to wonder why Beasley doesn’t make use of his great set of offensive moves more often in regular games. He is a really talented offensive player, he just needs to get his focus together. Once he does that, no one should be questioning whether the Heat should have taken Michael Beasley or O.J. Mayo with that second pick. With his teammate, Wade, as his coach, it was clear that Beasley was going to be the point of emphasis for the Rookies on offense.

I think longterm, Rose will look better when he is in the big game. The true stars of the league will probably get out running, and Rose will be able to set them up for more plays. Rose should also do better in the Skills Challenge then he did tonight, as his performance will not be tied to his teammates.