“Derrick Rose makes the Knicks 12.8 points per 100 possessions better!”: Crazy stat underlines MVP-like impact of the NBA’s youngest MVP in league history on Julius Randle, Tom Thibodeau’s squad

With Derrick Rose on the floor, the Knicks are as good as the 25-5 Suns. With D-Rose off it, they’re about as good as the 11-21 Pelicans.

New York basketball suffered through a really lean period through the course of the 2010s. Despite the city having 2 different NBA teams, neither could make it to the playoffs for a solid 5 years.

The Brooklyn Nets made it in 2014, and it wasn’t until 2019 that they were able to return there. The Knicks, meanwhile, had their drought a year longer both ways. They got back to the playoff stage only in the 2020-21 season after 2012-13.

And day-by-day, it is becoming clear that the Knicks’ upsurge last year was likely short-lived. This was a team that was bolstered by the signing of Derrick Rose ahead of last year’s trade deadline and finished the year on a flourish.

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Derrick Rose was one of the finalists for Sixth Man of the Year honors during last season. He didn’t win it last year, but his impact off the bench was as much as any other player you can think of.

D-Rose also played heavy minutes in the playoffs as the Knicks struggled for offense without him. And it seems that the rest of the league is now using the same mantra as the Hawks. Forcing Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to take bad shots has helped teams relegate the Knicks to a sub .500 record before Christmas.

The incredible impact of Derrick Rose on the Knicks can be quantified using stats

The Athletic’s lead Knicks beat writer Fred Katz wrote a deep-dive article today on how much the team depends on the 2010-11 NBA MVP for its offense.

One of the stats uncovered by Katz in his article pertained to the lineup ratings of the Knicks. Katz was able to note one thing – the Knicks play borderline elite when Rose plays. But as soon as he sits, the team’s efficiency on both ends seems to drop off a cliff.

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The Knicks will still be without D-Rose for quite a while as he looks forward to another extended absence. It is unclear how Tom Thibodeau plans to maintain their offensive tempo without him.