<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Suns pursued swingman Jalen Rose when they were having some struggles in the first few games of the season. Now, after the season's worst consecutive losses, they again will call on Rose for help. Rose, who stayed in the rotation only for November, will get those type of minutes again tonight when the Suns face Minnesota at home. "I just want to come in and supplement what's been happening already," Rose said. Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said the key to a turnaround lies in the team's core picking up its energy. But Rose will get a look to see if his guile, playmaking and shooting can carve out a niche. D'Antoni said Rose "definitely (brings) leadership in the sense that he's a veteran, can make some shots and can move the ball." Rose was a double-digit scorer and starter for the previous seven seasons. "This is the first team I've been on that I haven't been a captain," Rose said. "You've got to contribute in other ways besides points, rebounds, assists and hustle points. You've got to contribute in practice. You've got to contribute in huddles and things that don't show up in statistics." Between a reported $14.5 million buyout from the Knicks and a $1.5 million salary with Phoenix, Rose is among the 15 highest-paid players in the NBA this season. He has been an encouraging teammate for the past three months, but that did not make his new role any easier. "Not playing, you've got to test your love for the game and your professionalism," he said. </div> Source
He had a pretty good game, he came in and hit his first shot (a three), missed a couple, then put in a nice floater over KG. He only played 8 minutes before they took him out; he was put back in the last few garbage minutes and hit another three. I have wondered why they weren't playing him, I thought maybe his conditioning was the problem, but I can't say for sure as he's never had enough minutes to become tired. When JJ struggles I wonder why Rose isn't playing, so hopefully D'Antoni can find some minutes for him or at least explain why he hasn't been given any minutes all year. I understand not playing him if he's shooting 30% and jacking up shots every time he touches the ball, but that's not the case.
I think one of the reasons he has not played much is because he is a little slow. He doesn't move with that quick ferocity like Marion, Bell, Barbosa, and Jones have. However, he did look much better tonight and gave some solid minutes. I agree scorbutic, I have wondered many times why he doesn't get the nod when Jones is struggling. His leadership will definetly be a plus is he gets some minutes in the playoffs though.
