3 Reasons why Derrick Rose has higher PER than several top guards in the league

PER is a short form for Player Efficiency Rating which is a number that represents a player's overall performance. It was developed by John Hollinger and uses a detailed formula that rates every player by studying his stats.

This formula takes into account various aspects like field goals, three-pointers, free throws, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks. It even takes note of the turnovers, missed shots and personal fouls committed by a player. According to John Hollinger,

“The PER sums up all a player’s positive accomplishments, subtracts the negative accomplishments, and returns a per-minute rating of a player’s performance.”

ESPN's stats show that Rose has a PER of 20.6 and stands seventh among the guards. Stephen Curry stands on the top of the list followed by Kemba Walker, James Harden, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook and the youngest MVP Derrick Rose.

An important point to note is that Rose has a higher PER than Kyle Lowry, Chris Paul, Ben Simmons and John Wall. These four have a PER of 20.43, 19.73, 19.61 and 19.19 respectively.

I am listing out three main reasons for his higher PER.

3) His Improved Field Goal percentage

Los Angeles Lakers v Minnesota Timberwolves

Derrick Rose has improved his field goal percentage this year. Rose has a career eFG% of 47.6% whereas this season he is having eFG% of 55.3%. This improvement is the result of his improved jump shot.

The important thing to note is that Rose never put up an eFG% of more than 49.5 % in his entire career. His highest was in his sophomore season. Also, after the 2014-2015 season, he has never been able to put up more than 45%. Getting such numbers this season is a big achievement for the former MVP.

Rose is focussing on developing smarter ways to score rather than being explosive which was the only way he used to follow during his MVP days.

2) His consistency with putting up numbers

Portland Trail Blazers v Minnesota Timberwolves

Derrick Rose is having a great season and one of the best after his injury days. He is averaging 19.5 points this season which is more than his career average of 18.9 points per game, irrespective of the fact that he is a backup point guard and comes off the bench in most of the matches.

He has scored at least 20 points in 9 games this season which shows his consistency. This consistency in putting up numbers every single game has helped Timberwolves a lot in winning a few matches.

He has started just five games for the Wolves and has scored a career-high 50 points against the Utah Jazz in the game that he started.

Considering such numbers, if Derrick Rose remains fit the whole season, he is definitely one of the strong contenders for the "Sixth Man Of The Year".

1) His improved 3-point shot

Minnesota Timberwolves v Los Angeles Lakers

Rose credits good health for his improved three-point shooting this season. That might be the case, but I disagree with him up to some extent. Rose has had healthy moments before, but he never shot such numbers from beyond the three-point line. He was never a three-point shooter.

His three-point shooting has not seen better days even during his MVP days as he is having career-high three-point shooting percentage of 47.3%, better than some of the elite shooters in the league. This makes him a very important scorer for the Timberwolves.

According to his teammate Taj Gibson, the reason for his improved three-point shot is that he finally understands the fundamentals of the three-point shot. And he’s taking care of his body on a daily basis.

If Rose continues to shoot like this, he can really help the Timberwolves make to the playoffs.