Knicks guard Derrick Rose’s secret to staying healthy this season

NEW YORK — A weight has been lifted off Derrick Rose’s surgically-repaired knees.

The point guard revealed that he’s trimmed to 202 pounds, or just four above his draft-day weight nearly 13 years ago, with an understanding that slimming will assist his health.

“That’s something I can brag about,” Rose said, adding that his body fat is at 5.9%. “I don’t brag about much.”

Rose’s weight has fluctuated throughout his career, noting that he bulks up quickly with weight training. Now at 32 years old and a veteran of four knee surgeries, he’s following the examples of “legends” who proved durable through lengthy careers.

“I made a big effort this summer with making sure I had to trim down, especially when you had so many operations on your knees,” Rose said. “And you look at all the older people, the legends that played, like Tim Duncan, even though I’m not a (power forward), I look at all the guys that’s been through similar things and everybody loses weight.”

Rose said he switched out the Olympic lifting for Pilates. He dropped his body fat to 5.9%. Dropping weight doesn’t guarantee health, especially for a point guard whose game is predicated on speed and explosion. But it can’t hurt.

“I think he’s learned a lot about how to manage his body,” said Tom Thibodeau, who coached Rose for seven seasons in Chicago and Minnesota. “I think he’s in great shape. He’s lighter than he’s ever been.”

The early returns have been positive from Rose, who provided a boost to the Knicks’ bench in his first two games since being acquired from Detroit. The 32-year-old still was flying offensively at a rapid pace, facilitating for rookie Obi Toppin committing also to recovering on the defensive side. He had four steals in just 20 minutes of Friday night’s win over the Wizards.

But the playing time has been limited and he’s only once logged more than 30 minutes in a game this season with the Pistons or Knicks. Scouts say his physical threshold is now around 25 minutes.

On the mental side, Rose has been forced to grow and has earned the trust of Thibodeau, who launched the point guard into the rotation just about 90 minutes after he was cleared to play following the trade. Rose said he’s adapting to the reserve role next to Immanuel Quickley by studying film with assistant Andy Greer.

“We’ve been watching a ton of plays because I’m playing more of the shooting guard spot in certain situations with Quick bringing the ball up when we come in the game,” Rose said. “So I’m having to learn two spots right away. And the playbook is a little different, the terminology is a little different. But it’s coming back to me slowly whenever I am out there.”

Absorb the playbook and schemes. Drop the weight and the injuries. It’s a plan to succeed with a familiar demanding coach.

“And Thibs is the coach. So I got to make sure he’s not on my ass the whole year,” Rose said. “So I just got to make sure I’m ready and making sure I’m locked in when I go into the game.”