Derrick Rose sounded like a child standing in a candy store when he was talking about Fred Hoiberg’s offensive system. As a child would, Rose kept cutting himself off to follow a new thought on how to praise Fred Hoiberg even more. While doing so, he might have taken a subtle shot at Tom Thibodeau’s offense.
“I know that might sound crazy, but playing in a (deliberate) system for three or four years kind of got me out of my rhythm.” – Derrick Rose
No, Derrick. It’s not crazy. Just like the fans, players looked beyond frustrated watching a stagnant offense fail to produce night after night. The lack of flow and efficiency last season led to an embarrassing loss to a depleted Cavaliers team.
“As soon as I step up, I’m hitting whoever is open and just trying to play basketball. I love the way the offense is. I thought I was just going to come out and facilitate the game. But I saw openings and I got all the way to the basket. So I can take this and put it in the bank. It’s very encouraging. It’s scary for my confidence right now. The last thing I need is any more confidence.
I’m going to take this and run with it.” Derrick Rose
“Hoiberg asked me to play yesterday. For him to ask me it must mean he loved the way I was playing in practice. With this offense it’s a lot of openings and gaps. With the way we shoot the ball and the freedom we have to shoot the ball, it’s like you can’t help off anyone; if someone has it going we’re to keep feeding them. We’re going to play off matchups. We’ve got to do that a little bit more and get people the ball a little more, like when Jimmy had a couple of post ups when he had (J.J.) Barea on him a couple of times and we missed him. That’s all about reading the game and reading who is out there, giving the ball to the right person.” – Derrick Rose
The focal point of the offense isn’t just running an uptempo offense that leads to an open three-pointer, it’s also about exploiting the mismatches. With Butler standing 6’7 weighing in at 220 pounds, there’s a good chance he’ll be towering over his defenders. With the speed Rose can provide, the offense will look like a well oiled machine moving forward.
