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Detroit Pistons: Pros and cons of signing Derrick Rose

BySean McFadden|
Detroit Pistons Derrick Rose. (Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images)
Detroit Pistons Derrick Rose. (Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images)
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Detroit Pistons
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MARCH 05: Derrick Rose #25 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives to the basket against Dennis Schroder #17 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the game on March 5, 2019 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

Pro: Scoring

One of the main strengths Rose brings to Detroit is his ability to score. Perhaps the best place to start when assessing this scoring ability is looking at his 50-point game in a 128-125 victory over the Utah Jazz last season. The former Minnesota Timberwolves guard turned in a vintage performance, displaying the lethal combination of speed, creativity, and finishing ability that once made him one of the league’s top players.

By no means is this the kind of night-in, night-out production Rose can bring to the Pistons’ second unit. But games like this, and last season on the whole, showed that Rose has regained some of his scoring ability and proved that he can serve as an effective scorer in a limited role.

He finished the season averaging 18.0 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 4.3 APG, while shooting a healthy 48.2 percent from the field and a career-high 37 percent from three. Rose also impressed in the 13 games he started last season, averaging 21.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 6.1 APG.

If he can replicate this sort of production in the event that Reggie Jackson is injured, it will help the team stay on track–something Detroit struggled to do when Ish Smith was forced into the starting role.

There is no question that Rose’s offense will be a clear upgrade over Smith, last year’s backup point guard who recently signed a 2 year, $12 million deal with the Washington Wizards. Although Smith was a serviceable backup, posting a respectable 9.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 4.5 APG in 24 MPG while shooting 45.3 percent from the field during his three seasons with Detroit, he has never been a player capable of shouldering the scoring load.

Rose, on the other hand, is a proven scorer with an uncanny ability to create good looks for himself and finish at the rim.

For a second unit lacking a go-to scorer and ball-handler, Rose’s ability to produce with the ball in his hands will be a welcomed-sight for Detroit. The Pistons struggled to score without a floor general like Blake Griffin or Reggie Jackson on the court, so Derrick Rose’s proven scoring ability should alleviate some of the second unit’s offensive woes.

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