“I’m gonna have to apologize to the people; I don’t think I can really be objective.”
That was said by Bobby “The Brain” Heenan while doing commentary in the 1992 Royal Rumble and cheering for the wrestler he was managing, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. It is also the first thing I thought of when I realized every piece about the NBA I want to write is just about how Derrick Rose is the best player in the Association this year. Rose is my favorite player so I will always go nuts over everything he does, though I do feel I did a pretty good job of staying unbiased in the first post I had here on Black Belt Basketball. Rose’s major statistical improvements and the unexpected rise of the Chicago Bulls speak volumes for Rose’s MVP candidacy. As a student of the game I’m able to see that.
But as a Chicago Bulls fan, this has been the greatest season for the league in 13 years. I can’t help but start buying into the hype. The Bulls currently hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference and according to ESPN they have the best chance of winning the championship this year and being a dynasty in the future. I don’t want to jinx them so I won’t say they’re going to win it all, but as a fan this pumps me up to see other people saying it. And all of this is because of Derrick Rose.
When Rose came into the league people said he wasn’t clutch and couldn’t play defense. This year he’s shattered those misconceptions. Ask Chris Paul and Deron Williams if Rose can play defense. Following a loss to the Blazers, Portland’s Nicolas Batum said Rose can’t guard anybody. Chicago’s next game was against the Jazz, and Rose forced Williams into 38% shooting and 5 turnovers. It wasn’t done there. The next game was against the Hornets and Chris Paul was held to 3-10 shooting and only 6 assists. The top two point guards in the league decimated in back to back games. The on St. Patrick’s Day the Bulls played the Nets who now have Deron Williams. Williams is apparently nursing an injured wrist, but Rose still held him to 1-12 shooting and had a beast block on him in the fourth quarter. Then against Indiana last week the Pacers had a chance to win in the closing moments of the fourth but Rose blocked the shot. I don’t think Rose can guard people.
As for him being clutch, that isn’t even a debate anymore. Rose unloaded 19 fourth quarter points to send that game with Indiana to overtime. In the first game against Houston this year, Rose scored 17 points in the fourth to carry Chicago to victory. In the second meeting with Houston this year Rose hit that three to send the game to overtime then scored five of Chicago’s ten points in the OT period. Against the Phoenix Suns, D. Rose hit clutch shot after clutch shot and even scored more points than the entire Suns team in the second overtime. Rose also made big plays against the Lakers, and has been making big plays all year. Some people would say Rose is a killer now, but I like the way Brian Scalabrine put it:
"[Killers] are the guys who get you the need baskets. I have a different word for killers. I call them motherfuckers. And right now, Derrick Rose is the baddest motherfucker in the league by far. He is the reason we win."
Yes he is. He’s playing like an animal and I am so happy because of it. When the Bulls drafted him I was so happy. I don’t pay attention to college basketball so I had no real knowledge of what Rose had done previous, but to get the local boy with the first pick in the draft and excite the entire fan base was a big thing. I’ve followed every game of his career. I’ve seen every big game he’s had, from the 36 point explosion against the Celtics in Game 1 of the 2009 Playoff series all the way up to his 42 point onslaught against the league-best San Antonio Spurs this season. I was walking around the room with my arms in the air in triumph during the Bulls’ demolition of the Hawks last night in which Rose had 30 and 10 and hit six 3 pointers.
Every time Derrick Rose steps on the court I turn into a 10 year old. Every time he goes to the hoop and hits one of his unreal acrobatic layups I stand up pumping my fist. When he hits a three right over a defender I walk around the room with my fist in the air. When he dunks on somebody I get crazy eyes and just start yelling “Yeah!” When he hits a big shot in the fourth I get up and run around the room with my hand over my face screaming. I’m not embarrassed. It just goes to show that Derrick Rose is so good he can make a grown ass man act like a bitch.
This of course would probably lead you to ask why in the blue hell I get like this over Derrick Rose. Rose embodies everything I’d want to see in a player in my favorite sport. The best thing about him is the fact he’s so humble. He could easily brag about the damage he’s doing to teams this year, but instead he gets very shy if you tell him he’s been the best in the league this far. After beating Miami for the third time, Rose was interviewed after the game and rather than celebrate having a good game and winning he freaked out about how he nearly cost his team the game with two turnovers and missing a jumper. He felt terrible that he nearly ruined the game for his teammates. When the reporter interviewing him tried to get him to talk a little trash about Miami’s big three and say something about the great season he’s been having, Rose just shook his head and smiled and said it was all about the team’s success and it doesn’t matter what he does on his own.
That’s pretty big for a superstar to do. When Boston beat the Lakers in the 2008 Finals, I remember Kobe saying the loss hurts because it had been such a big year for him. LeBron James constantly talks about himself like he’s a global icon. Derrick Rose has been playing better than both of them all season but doesn’t want to hear about how good he’s been, he just wants you to talk about what a great team the Bulls have been. Saying he wanted to be MVP before the season started was the only time Rose has ever gotten cocky. Other than that he’s always respectful and reserved. I love it.
The other thing that makes Rose so great is that killer instinct he has. Over the summer he contacted both Dwyane Wade and LeBron James about coming to Chicago. He contacted Wade a few times, but Wade blew him off. Then when the big three decided to form in Miami, Rose hit the gym and went nuts. He developed a three point shot, his free throw shooting has gone way up, his defense is way better, and he’s approached the season with a determination nobody knew he had. All the effort he’s put into this year started because of the free agency period in which the Bulls management wanted him to court James and Wade. Rose knew he could lead the Bulls on his own and when LBJ and Wade went to South Beach he set out to prove to everybody he can. That’s the type of drive that brings to memory a certain guard who also played for the Bulls.
Rose also preaches Tom Thibodeau’s message constantly and has helped Thibs transform the culture of the Bulls this year. He doesn’t call Thibs out and make it seem like his coach is the issue if the Bulls lose a game. He doesn’t slam into Thibs on the sideline if he’s mad about his decisions like some stars. He trusts what Thibodeau brings to the table and he believes in him. That faith and loyalty to a coach is something you’d expect out of a truly dedicated star, but because of the bond Rose and his coach have developed it has the Bulls playing at a level nobody except the most serious of Bulls fans would have believed.
Derrick Rose is such a special player. When he proclaimed he could win the MVP award deep down I wished it would happen, but on my other blog I still said Kevin Durant would be the one who wins it because I hadn’t seen exactly how much Rose had improved in just a few months. On my other blog I had said the Bulls would be the 4 seed in the East, but in conversations before the season started with my brother and my friend Josh, both Bulls fans, I said I believed they had the parts to contend right away because Rose was going to be that good. It was just the extremely biased Bulls fan in me saying what I really wanted to happen this year. But now it is happening. I’m stunned.
I texted Josh earlier saying Derrick Rose is the second coming of either Jesus or Michael Jordan. Josh responded that Rose has taken the best parts of both of them and combined them into one superhuman. He may be right. After the Bulls beat the Hornets in that game I mentioned earlier, Carlos Boozer said of Rose, “He’s a monster, man. And I keep telling people, when it’s all said and done—he’s 22—he’s going to be the best one.” I don’t know about him being better than MJ, but we’re witnessing a special player this year. He’s so humble and so driven and has his team playing at an unbelievable level. I’m so happy I’ve been supporting him from the moment the Bulls drafted him.
I’ve never cheered for an athlete the way I’ve been cheering for D. Rose (I don’t know if I could give almost three pages to Steve Nash), and I’ve never pulled for a team the way I’m pulling for the Bulls. I’m so pumped for the next 12 games and the Playoffs, as well as the many years of success the Bulls likely have in store. Knock on wood.
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