The arrival of Derrick Rose in New York was met with a suspicious eye by a wary fan base. With an injury history longer than the word count for this story, 10 years removed from his MVP season and a long relationship with head coach Tom Thibodeau, maybe it wasn’t wrong.
But then a night like Thursday comes along, just eight games into his tenure in New York and his first chance as a starter. Rose ascended to the starting lineup with Elfrid Payton sidelined with a hamstring injury and he connected on his first six shots, finished with 18 points and helped lead the Knicks to a 140-point outburst (albeit against the Sacramento Kings and their league-worst defense).