New York Knicks point guards Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings are a unique combination to challenge opponents. We looked at the good and bad.
The point guard duo of Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings closed out the New York Knicks (11-9) home win over the Sacramento Kings (7-13) on Sunday. With Courtney Lee unavailable due to injury, Jeff Hornacek went small to counter Sacramento’s slower lineup, and it paid off.But that was a Kings team that put in the effort of a preseason game. It wasn’t a real test for the effectiveness of this unique backcourt on a more full-time basis.
Down the stretch, Rose and Jennings were matched up against Darren Collison and Garret Temple. Collison played the entire second half and Temple is a career 4.5 points per game scorer.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, so far the duo has shared the court for a total of 248 possessions in 2016-17. We looked at the pros and cons of playing Rose and Jennings together even more.
Pro: Ability To Pressure The Defense
Both Rose and Jennings put a lot of pressure on the defense with their penetration. Between the two of them, they have 278 drives to the basket, per NBA.com.
Rose has been aggressive with his shot at the rim while Jennings has looked to pass. The former MVP has averaged 5.9 FGA and scored 161 of his 340 total points (47.4%) on drives. Jennings scores mostly from the perimeter. Just 31% of his points have come on drives.
Per NBA.com, Jennings passes 40% of the time he attacks the rim. He hasn’t been nearly as effective as Rose, though.
While Jennings has been more controlled than Rose, only 58.7% of his drives have resulted in points. For Rose, it’s 79.3%.
What makes them so different is what makes them such a good pair. Rose as a pass-first point guard is unnatural. With Jennings on the court, he won’t need to be.
NEXT: Size Issue
Con: Size
Rose (6-3, 190 pounds) and Jennings (6-1, 170 pounds) will struggle against a bigger backcourt. If one were matched up against a guard who could post up, it’d be an absolute mismatch.
The two have enough trouble guarding opposing point guards on a regular basis. It’s a classic case of giving up some size to gain a little more offense. That’s the risk of going small.
NEXT: Speed Advantage
Pro: Accelerated Pace Of Play
The game can move faster with Rose and Jennings at the helm. Hornacek used the same two-point guard style in Phoenix, and all three of his teams were in the top 10 in pace.
The Knicks are currently 27th in fast break points and 23rd in points in the paint.
Pairing Rose and Jennings together would produce more opportunities in transition and open shots for bigs in the paint.
NEXT: Streaky Shooting
Con: Streaky Shooting
After a miserable shooting performance in 2015-16, Rose has abandoned his jumper with the promise to have it working later in the season. Easier said than done.
Rose has never been much of a shooter, but he’s always been paired with two guards who made up for his lack of ability from the perimeter.
Jennings, while skilled from beyond the arc, is one of the streakiest shooters in the league. And right now he’s on a cold streak. A career 34.9% shooter from downtown, Jennings has connected on just 20 of his 64 attempts (31.3%) in 2016-17.
NEXT: Ball-Handling
Pro: Two Primary Ball Handlers
Rose and Jennings can put pressure on the defense with more than just their driving ability. Having to deal with two players capable of running an offense makes things harder on the opponent.
For all Rose’s flaws, he’s still exceptional at running the pick and roll.
Per NBA.com, Rose has run the league’s most popular play 7.4 times per game, while shooting 50.4% from the field, and scoring on 46.9% of his opportunities. His outstanding numbers add up to 7.1 points per game off this play type.
Jennings as you already know is a different player. He’s struggled in the pick and roll, but the team just seems to run smoother when he’s out there. Jennings is averaging less than two turnovers for just the second time in his career and is seeing than the floor even better than Rose.
The second unit’s trademark is their transition offense, led by Jennings. If he were to pair up with Rose more, they could bring some of that up-tempo magic to the court together.
NEXT: Defense
Con: Struggles On Defense
Both Rose and Jennings have faced well-earned criticism for their defensive issues during their respective careers.
When Rose was in Chicago, defensive guru Tom Thibodeau found ways to hide his point guard’s deficiencies by putting him next to great defensive shooting guards. Much like the Knicks tried to do with Courtney Lee.
Jennings won’t be able to cover for Rose because he’s an even worse defender than the former MVP.
In Rose’s seven prior seasons he’s produced just one positive defensive box plus-minus number. Jennings hasn’t been much better with two in his seven seasons.
Coach Hornacek will have to regulate their minutes together wisely because as good as the duo might be on offense (113 points produced per 100 possessions) they’re worse on defense (119 points allowed per 100 possessions).
That’s through just 20 games. And 248 possessions. They’re still getting used to each other. Hornacek loves him some two point guard lineups. We haven’t seen the last of this duo.
- All stats are from Basketball Reference and NBA.com.