New York Knicks: Jeff Hornacek Confident Derrick Rose Can Pick Up Offense
New York Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek believes Derrick Rose can pick up the offense despite being away for a civil trial for over a week.
The New York Knicks made a splash in the offseason when they traded for Derrick Rose. Rose came to the Knicks looking for a fresh start after his Chicago Bulls tenure got marred by injuries the past couple of seasons.
With the Knicks, Rose is expected to be the starting point guard. He will be running the new offense that Jeff Hornacek will be implementing; he is expected to play more up-tempo with more pick-and-rolls with some of the triangle still being used. Rose has already expressed difficulty in learning the new offense, so the offseason was imperative for him to learn it and get comfortable.
Unfortunately, Rose is dealing with a civil suit in California, as a lawsuit alleges that he and two friends raped a woman. He has missed practice time and preseason games as a result, as Rose has been in California since Wednesday, October 5th.
He played in the Knicks preseason opener against the Houston Rockets, scoring 16 points with five assists. It was a promising debut with the Knicks, but Rose has been unable to build off that performance as he has been unavailable since.
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Add in the fact that Joakim Noah has also been sidelined with a hamstring injury, and the Knicks are further behind than they would like. Luckily, Noah is expected to return to the lineup for the Knicks’ game Saturday against the Boston Celtics. Rose is not expected to be at that game, but head coach Jeff Hornacek is not worried.
Despite his previous statements about the offense being complicated, Hornacek believes that Rose can pick up the offense once the civil suit is concluded. Hornacek and other members of the team’s brain trust, such as Phil Jackson and Steve Mills, have been in touch with Rose.
"“We’re talking to him about the stuff that we’re doing. He’s watching the games to try and see it. I don’t think he’ll have a problem when he comes back on the stuff that we’re putting in,” Hornacek said. “We want him to take care of that stuff and focus on that and then get to basketball.”"
The Knicks are prepared to get Rose extra work in case the lawsuit carries into next week, which is expected to happen. In that case, the Knicks will send an assistant coach out to Rose to help him continue to learn the offense while he is away from the team.
Hornacek has said that Rose hasn’t missed much in terms of learning new sets; the offense has remained relatively the same since Rose had to leave. But, the chance to build chemistry and cohesion with his teammates is something that Rose is missing out on.
That is what Carmelo Anthony pointed out, as Rose has missed five practices and two games. Here is what he had to say about the situation, partly joking.
“I’m pretty sure if I was him [Hornacek] I’d be calling Derrick and telling him, ‘Hurry up. Figure it out, and hurry up back,’” Anthony said of Hornacek, only half joking. “Just because the way the team is starting to gel together and come together, the camaraderie we’re starting to create with one another, we don’t want him missing out on that.”
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This is a Knicks team that has looked like they genuinely enjoy being around each other. They got together before training camp and the preseason to workout, as players wanted to get to know one another. It would be nice to have Rose be a part of everything, but getting his named cleared off the court is more important than him learning something on it right now.