Derrick Rose driving to put Knicks back in playoffs

"Once we get in the playoffs we're going to be a hell of a team to go against. You don't know what to expect from us in the playoffs. Our goal is to get there first." -- New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose

Playoffs? The Knicks? It would be strange to associate the two based on recent history.

Phil Jackson's Knicks have missed the postseason for three consecutive years, losing a combined 115 games over the past two.

But talking about the Knicks as a playoff team doesn't seem so far-fetched at this point.

ESPN's BPI currently gives the Knicks, who are 16-14 and in the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference standings, a 54.5 percent chance of making the playoffs.

And Rose, the man who believes the Knicks will be a tough out in the postseason, is one of the reasons they have a chance to qualify.

"He's been solid so far, passed each and every test," an Eastern Conference scout said of Rose recently. "He's given them everything they could've expected."

So what, exactly, is Rose giving the Knicks these days?

Drives to the rim

Rose's biggest impact thus far has been in getting to the basket. He's averaging 9.7 drives per game and is shooting 54.4 percent on them, per NBA.com's tracking.

That's an increase from previous seasons and puts him in pretty good company around the NBA. His field goal percentage is the third highest among the 13 guards who attempt at least five shots off drives per game, per NBA.com. And Rose currently ranks 10th in the NBA in scoring off drives (7.4 PPG).

His ability to get into the paint gives the Knicks an element they lacked last season. New York averaged just 15 drives per game (30th in the NBA). Not surprisingly, they finished the season 26th in offensive efficiency. This season, with Rose playing significant minutes, they're 14th in the league.

"His ability to penetrate, get in there and finish makes teams honest," Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek says.

Passing

Rose will often drive to the lane with his eyes on the rim, scouts say, which at times causes him to miss open teammates.

But when he finds a teammate, particularly on the perimeter, it has often led to good results. Knicks players who have attempted at least 15 3-pointers off Rose passes are hitting 41 percent of those shots, per NBA.com. Kristaps Porzingis, in particular, seems to have benefited from Rose's presence. He has hit 44.1 percent of his 3-point attempts off Rose passes (15-of-34) entering the Knicks' game against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.

Still, Rose misses opportunities to find teammates fairly often, scouts say.

"He's ball dominant and there have been times when he's had Carmelo and Porzingis open on the perimeter, and he hasn't seen them," a Western Conference scout says. "That's an issue."

Scouts also say Rose continues to struggle at times on defense. Again, the numbers support that observation. Rose ranks in the bottom third among the 85 point guards who qualify for ESPN's defensive RPM, which is an estimate of a player's impact on team defense.

But there's no question the Knicks' offense has benefited from Rose. New York is scoring eight more points per 100 possessions with him on the court.

Some of that has to be attributed to Rose's shot selection.

His 3-point attempts are down 40 percent from last season (1.4 per game) and are down significantly from his attempts per game in 2014-15 (5.3). More than half of his attempts (55 percent) are taken 10 feet or closer to the basket, per NBA.com.

"He gets there consistently and makes it difficult. That's something teams have to gameplan for," a Western Conference scout says. "And it opens things up for guys like Carmelo and Porzingis."

The Knicks miss him when he's gone

Rose's defensive slips have hurt the Knicks at times. But it's hard to argue that Rose hasn't been a net positive in his first two months as a Knick. After all, New York went 1-3 when Rose was out with back spasms earlier this month (that record includes the Knicks' loss to Phoenix, in which Rose played just 10 minutes because of the back spasms).

The Knicks' field goal percentage (2-point and 3-point) improves when Rose is on the court, and the club's net rating is 6.8 points better with Rose on the court;

"We play different when he's out there," Anthony says.

In the past, the phrase "when he's out there" has always been a big qualifier for Rose. He had played in just 39 percent of his games in the previous four seasons because of various injuries.

For the most part, Rose has remained healthy this season, and he insists his back is not an issue at this point and his knees feel fine.

"Everything is behind me. I don't even want to speak on it, man," he says with a laugh. "No aches, no pains, no nothing. I'm good."

And so are the Knicks, it seems. When was the last time you could say that?

ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.