NEW YORK — Every now and then, he flashes a glimpse of the player he once was.
Sometimes it will come in a quick crossover followed by an acrobatic finish at the hoop. Other times he’ll leap off the floor on one side of the rim—only to emerge on the other end of the basket to smoothly spin the ball off the glass and through the net before landing.
These days, though, most of Derrick Rose’s work is done with his feet closer to the ground. The daily displays of gravity defiance are no more. They’ve been replaced by a subtler style of manipulation, a head fake here, a dipped shoulder there, maybe a quick change of direction followed by a funky-looking toss.