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Rookie James Johnson spent a couple of moments playfully asking reporters for a microphone so he could ask his teammate about his most recent long-distance bomb.
Rose just laughed off the jokes, but it's safe to say that everyone has taken notice of the All-Star point guard's new range. In the past two games, Rose is 6 for 13 from 3-point range. To put that in perspective, he was just 1 for 4 from the arc the past 10 games in which he played.
So where did the newfound confidence in the longer jumper come from all of a sudden?
"That's something I've just been working on," Rose said after Monday's shootaround. "Almost every day I've just been shooting them. They were giving me the shot, so why not take it?"
As Rose gave his explanation, Del Negro came into the small media pack and started shaking his head when the mere mention of his young star's long-distance shot came up. It's not that Del Negro doesn't want him taking the shot, it's that he doesn't want Rose to fall in love with it and forget about driving to the basket.
"He's been working on [3-pointers] for a while," Del Negro said after the Bulls' 98-88 victory Monday night against the Houston Rockets. "I don't want him to fall in love with the 3 just yet. But when he's open, and he feels good about it, I want him to feel confident to knock those down.
"He puts the time in, and I know how hard he works on it, but Derrick's going to go through the evolution of when's a good 3, when's a bad 3. How am I shooting it? Should I attack? Who's hot? Who's not?"
For as much possible trepidation as the second-year coach has about Rose's shot selection, even he admits that the added range will only help his point guard's repertoire.
"[The 3-pointer] opens up a lot more penetration lanes for him," Del Negro said. "When they have to guard him out at the line it gives him more room instead of them sagging off and help clogging up the lane. Now, if he can spread the defense doing that, I think as his career goes on he'll be able to do that. He'll just have to pick his spots. Keep working on it like he does, gain confidence in it. Once teams see him start knocking some down they'll get up on him and it will open up his game a little more."
For now, Del Negro better get used to seeing Rose firing up more 3-pointers, because he seems intent on widening his range.
"I'm going to keep taking [the 3-point shot]," Rose said after Monday's game. "As you see [Monday] night, my other ones were flat. I hit the most important ones, and I'm going to keep taking it no matter what."
Rose just laughed off the jokes, but it's safe to say that everyone has taken notice of the All-Star point guard's new range. In the past two games, Rose is 6 for 13 from 3-point range. To put that in perspective, he was just 1 for 4 from the arc the past 10 games in which he played.
So where did the newfound confidence in the longer jumper come from all of a sudden?
"That's something I've just been working on," Rose said after Monday's shootaround. "Almost every day I've just been shooting them. They were giving me the shot, so why not take it?"
As Rose gave his explanation, Del Negro came into the small media pack and started shaking his head when the mere mention of his young star's long-distance shot came up. It's not that Del Negro doesn't want him taking the shot, it's that he doesn't want Rose to fall in love with it and forget about driving to the basket.
"He's been working on [3-pointers] for a while," Del Negro said after the Bulls' 98-88 victory Monday night against the Houston Rockets. "I don't want him to fall in love with the 3 just yet. But when he's open, and he feels good about it, I want him to feel confident to knock those down.
"He puts the time in, and I know how hard he works on it, but Derrick's going to go through the evolution of when's a good 3, when's a bad 3. How am I shooting it? Should I attack? Who's hot? Who's not?"
For as much possible trepidation as the second-year coach has about Rose's shot selection, even he admits that the added range will only help his point guard's repertoire.
"[The 3-pointer] opens up a lot more penetration lanes for him," Del Negro said. "When they have to guard him out at the line it gives him more room instead of them sagging off and help clogging up the lane. Now, if he can spread the defense doing that, I think as his career goes on he'll be able to do that. He'll just have to pick his spots. Keep working on it like he does, gain confidence in it. Once teams see him start knocking some down they'll get up on him and it will open up his game a little more."
For now, Del Negro better get used to seeing Rose firing up more 3-pointers, because he seems intent on widening his range.
"I'm going to keep taking [the 3-point shot]," Rose said after Monday's game. "As you see [Monday] night, my other ones were flat. I hit the most important ones, and I'm going to keep taking it no matter what."
