Rose claims he has tweaked shooting style but insists he will do what he feels is right on the court…
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Team USA Coach Mike Krzyzewski has revealed that he wants point guard Derrick Rose to be more selfish offensively in the upcoming knockout games of the FIBA World Cup 2014.
The 25-year-old has shot 21.6 percent from the field through USA’s first six games of the tournament, connecting on just eight of his 37 attempts as he continues to struggle to shake off the rust of his inactivity over the past two years.
Rose has played in just 10 games over the last two NBA seasons and it is clearly taking him time to find his rhythm in Spain this summer. However, he is set unveil a slight tweak to his shooting style in the quarter-final clash with Slovenia on Tuesday night.
“Tomorrow is going to be a different game. I think I found it now. Just changed one little thing,” Rose said, ESPN reports.
Pressed to reveal the change in his shooting approach, Rose said with a smile: “You’ll see tomorrow. You’ll see tomorrow.”
According to sources, Rose has reportedly modified the amount of lift he had previously been taking on his shot and with less elevation he looked comfortable shooting from all ranges.
It remains to be seen whether or not he is able to extend that into a competitive game, but Coach Krzyzewski undoubtedly wants him to be more selfish with the ball and make his plays even though it is positive to see him get his team-mates involved.
“I’d like to see [Rose] go off,” Krzyzewski acknowledged.
“His play is very important for us. … Derrick is obviously a great guy, [but] we need him to be Derrick, the player. His focus isn’t on him offensively. And I don’t think he became the great player he was having that mindset. So hopefully he’ll have the mindset that we want him to. … We’ve been winning big, so our argument might fall on deaf ears a little bit. But we need him to do it.”
However, Rose appeared to suggest that he will continue to do what his instinct tells him on the court this summer, as his role is undoubtedly different to the one he has with the Bulls.
While he expects to take between 20-25 shots per night with Chicago, given the depth and talent on the USA roster, he is aware of the ability of his team-mates around him and Bulls Coach Tom Thibodeau insists he is doing all the right things for a player who has not featured for two years.
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