Derrick Rose to unveil shooting tweak
BARCELONA, Spain -- Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose is vowing to break out of his shooting slump Tuesday when Team USA meets Slovenia in the quarterfinals of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Rose shot 21.6 percent from the field through Team USA's first six games of the tournament, connecting on just eight of his 37 attempts from the field as he shakes off the rust from two lost seasons.
Mike Krzyzewski wants Derrick Rose to put himself before his teammates on occasion. Rose has missed 29 of his 37 shots in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
But Rose, who has repeatedly struggled to finish drives to the rim, was noticeably upbeat Monday when he met with American reporters after practice and a lengthy shooting session with Bulls coach and Team USA assistant Tom Thibodeau, spotting a few familiar faces and vowing: "Tomorrow is going to be a different game. I think I found it now. Just changed one little thing."
Pressed to reveal the change in his shooting approach, Rose said with a smile: "You'll see tomorrow. You'll see tomorrow."
One team source told ESPN.com that Rose appeared to modify the amount of lift he had been taking previously on his jump shot in Monday's shooting session to guard against getting too high in the air before his release. With more modest spring off the floor, Rose looked comfortable from all shooting ranges.
"I'd like to see [Rose] go off," Krzyzewski acknowledged Monday.
The push coming now from team officials is for Rose to be more attack-minded as the tournament wears on, knowing that guard play figures to be critical in the widely expected potential showdown with Spain in the Sept. 14 title game in Madrid. Given the size and reputation of Spanish big men Pau and Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, Team USA is bound to counter with the speed and skill of guards such as Kyrie Irving, Steph Curry, James Harden and, if he's up to it, Rose.
