Remember when Derrick Rose drew the headlines for wreaking havoc with a record set by Lew Alcindor?
Rose’s scintillating performance in Game 1 of the Bulls’ first-round playoff series against Boston last April, in which he scored 36 points to tie Alcindor’s 39-year-old record for scoring in a rookie playoff debut, is a distant, if pleasant, memory.
The fresher memories are from Saturday night, when Rose posted his second seven-turnover game of the young season and Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings smashed Alcindor’s 40-year-old franchise mark for rookie scoring by dropping 55 points on the Warriors.
Currently, Jennings is getting the national love reserved for Rose last season. Closer to home, the Bulls are still trying to get Rose back on track.
“Three or four of his turnovers were plays he usually makes,” coach Vinny Del Negro said. “We’ll continually work with him on that stuff. He threw this one pass over the top on this pick-and-roll and we’ve been working with him to step through. Those floating passes get picked off. We can’t have that many turnovers.”
Rose knows. One is too many for him.
“I need to get low with the ball and protect it,” Rose said.
Rose continues to shoot at a solid percentage and the fact that six of his seven field goals against Philadelphia on Saturday came on drives or floaters is an encouraging sign. But through nine games — granted, a small sample — his three turnovers per game is .51 higher than last season’s average, while his assists average (5.3) is one fewer.
“They’re staying on me until I get the ball out of my hands,” Rose said. “A lot of my turnovers are when I pass it back (out of the double-team). They’re tipping those.”
Defensive attention isn’t the only kind Rose draws. Media scrutiny is more acute mostly because of the consistently high standard Rose set last season.
Rose understands that.
“It’s on me to play better,” he said.
Del Negro and the coaching staff are harping on Rose to get more aggressive in the open court, all the while trying to realize the sore tendon in his right ankle that limited him to one preseason game could still be limiting him.
That Rose played 36 minutes, 43 seconds against Philadelphia — and is no lower than 34 in his last three games — is a good sign.
The seven turnovers, obviously, is not.
“After I come off the pick, the big guy is giving the guard a chance to get over or under the pick,” Rose said. “If he goes over, he’s close enough to contest my jumper and there are two people on me. When they drop off, that’s when I have to do my thing.
These last couple of games, I’ve been driving it. I only took two or three jump shots (Saturday). I’m getting better.”
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kcjohnson@tribune.com
