Rose Named Eastern Conference Player of the Week

January 4th, 2010 by Andrew Wamboldt

Derrick Rose has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week according to NBA.com.

The Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Dec. 28, through Jan. 3.

Rose led the Bulls in scoring in each game, averaging 26.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists, as Chicago went 3-0. On Jan. 2, Rose became the first Bulls player to post a 30-point, five-rebound, five-assist game since 2008 (Kirk Hinrich) when he amassed 30 points, six rebounds and seven assists in a 101-93 win over Orlando.

Here is a recap of each of Rose’s performances this past week:

Dec. 29 vs. Indiana: Posted 28 points, five rebounds, six assists and one block in a 104-95 win over the Pacers.

Dec. 31 @ Detroit: Scored 22 points to go along with four rebounds, four assists and two blocks in a 98-87 win over the Pistons.

Jan. 2 vs. Orlando: Tallied 30 points, six rebounds and seven assists in a 101-93 win over the Magic.

As I recollect, Ben Gordon is the only other post-dynasty era Bull to receive this award. Because of this, Rose is joining some rare company, even if that’s because of the franchise’s horribleness, rather than this being any type of crowning achievement.

But still, Rose should be proud of earning this honor. His play in the last week was his best string of games in his career, and he is really turning the corner into a star type of player that can lead his team to victory. Hopefully he keeps it up.