Derrick Rose is the best closer in the NBA, says Brian Scalabrine

He hasn't played in months after blowing out his knee, but a healthy Derrick Rose is still the best "closer" in all of basketball, in the opinion of former teammate Brian Scalabrine.

The current CSN New England analyst gives one caveat, though, noting that Rose is often winded by the end of games due to the heavy load he's forced to carry throughout.

Last four minutes of a game, I would take Derrick Rose, fresh, healthy, over any other player in the NBA.

Listing players such as Miami Heat teammates LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, Scalabrine still says that he'd prefer the explosive scoring ability of the Bulls' star in crunch time. James gets the nod overall because his size better equips him for the 82-game season, though, in Scalabrine's opinion.

Still, Rose's ability to deal with the unusual defensive strategies deployed by other teams late in games is a unique trait, Scalabrine says. "Have you ever seen things like getting double-teamed at half court to get the ball out of his hands? Not even LeBron had seen that before."