Chicago Bulls' guard Derrick Rose did not disappoint in his rookie season but now, after losing Ben Gordon to the Pistons, the Bulls will be expecting Rose to be their go to guy on offense.
In his rookie season Derrick Rose scored 16.8 PPG, while dishing out 6.3 APG. This year I predict that Rose will score anywhere from 20-25 PPG and 7.5-10 APG. The main reason for this spike in numbers, along with the fact that he has a year of experience, is the loss of Ben Gordon. With Gordon out of the picture Rose will definitely be taking more shots and as a result will get to the line more often. It has been well documented this offseason that Rose is working on his jumpshot and extending his range to the three point line, which makes him that much more dangerous to other teams.
Many (including me) envision that Rose will step up into the NBA's Mt. Olympus of point guards sometime in the next 1-2 seasons, this is the elite group which includes Chris Paul, Deron Willaims, Tony Parker, and Chauncey Billups. But the question that everyone wants to know is when, when will Rose step up and make the Bulls a dangerous team again. What Rose has to work on the most if he wants that to happen is his assist to turnover ratio. In the playoffs every possession is important, he can't be turning the ball over 5 times a game like he did in last season's first round bout with the Celtics.
Ask yourself this question, if you were the Bulls and you could trade Rose for any other point guard in the league who would it be, Chis Paul immediately comes to mind but consider this: Rose is a Chicago native and he would be more likely (than Paul) to express loyalty to the Bulls when his contract is up. I wouldn't trade him for anybody, the Chicago Bulls have a real gem in Rose, I strongly believe that Rose is going to be a top 1-2 point guard in the league by the time this season ends, whenever it ends. Rose's ability to score makes him so much more dangerous because teams are going to be forced to double team him which will give the green light to Hinrich, Deng, and Salmons to knock down some shots.
Derrick Rose is a young player with the sky as his limit, don't be surprised to see Rose in the MVP voting at the end of the season. He is ready to take the NBA by storm.
