Newly signed guard Derrick Rose made his Timberwolves' debut with 6½ minutes played during Sunday's first half against Golden State, and the best you can say about it is he should get better.
Signed Thursday and reunited with his former Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau, Rose made one of his five shots, committed two turnovers, had one offensive rebound and two assists and was a minus-17 in plus-minus rating, if you trust such things.
The Wolves led 28-17 when he entered the game late in the first quarter and trailed 44-38 when he left early in the second quarter. He didn't play again.
Rose hadn't played a game since he played seven minutes for Cleveland against the Wolves a month ago.
"It felt good, besides all the damn turnovers," Rose said. "Jittery, anxious, as you could see. Some plays I could have slowed down and figured things out. It just shows you I'm excited to be actually be out there playing. It has been a while since I've been in action. Right now, I'm just trying to get the feel and cheer on my teammates when I'm not in the game.
"My wind was good, but if you're talking about like rust, losing the ball, yeah, I was just not there. But the more I practice, the more I play, it's going to come."
Not often one to do so, Thibodeau promised he'd do better himself. He played Rose with point guard Tyus Jones and veteran Jamal Crawford in a three-guard offense.
"Probably what I expected: rust, an aggressiveness," Thibodeau said. "But that group, I've got to give them a better plan. It was the first time we had the three guards out there together. I think it can pose problems, but we can work on it a little more."
