Bulls Talk coming at you in visual form today, and boy do we have a LOT to talk about. The Bulls torch the Heat in Miami to claim 2nd place in the Eastern Conference all to their own while the Bulls bring Miami’s finest to tears, Derrick Rose continues his stellar MVP campaign as the Bulls now eye the Celtics top spot in the East. Plus the question of the day: Is Derrick Rose the NBA’s Best PG and is he now a lock for the MVP? It’s all ahead here on Bulls Talk on Pippen Ain’t Easy.
The Heat Is On
We all hate losing. No one likes that feeling of a game coming down to a wire, your adrenaline is pumping and then is is all of a sudden whisked away along with that winning feeling. We all hate that and you get that sort of lump in your throat but it never goes past that.
Well not if you’re a Miami Heat.
Supposedly there was a waterfall of tears in the Heat locker room following Chicago’s morale crushing 87-86 last second victory on Sunday. Head coach Erik Spolestra seemed hesitant to admit his guys were letting their emotions get the best of them a few feet away from his press conference, but he let the beans spill anyways.
It’s not completely unbelievable that some of Miami’s players were in tears over the loss. They’re supposed to be the crowned kings of the NBA, but they just lost four consecutive games, all to contending teams, and all due to their inability to close games.
New York: Last second LeBron shot denied by Amare Stoudimire after leading the game.
Orlando: A 24 point lead overcame on the road.
San Antonio: Well this was an inability to start.
Chicago: Last second Dwayne Wade shot missed after leading the majority of the game by double-digits.
This raises a lot of question’s about Miami and their chemistry. It’s also a big reason why it is so hard to assemble a team of superstars and expect to win every game. Everyone wants to take that last second shot and be the hero in Miami. LeBron wants his name in the headline for his last second heroics in New York.
Dwayne Wade wants his name in the headlines for sinking a shot to beat the Bulls as time expires. Everyone wants to be the hero and no one wants to be the sidekick. That’s the problem in Miami and no one wants to admit it. If Dwayne Wade had faked at the
hoop his first attempt at the end of the game Sunday, and passed it; Miami might have won. Instead he took two shots himself and missed both.
How clutch.
Is Derrick Rose the Best PG In the NBA?
On the other hand, Chicago is assembled of not yet superstars who like to win more so than they want to be in the headlines. This has got a lot to who their leader is. There is no clearly defined leader in Miami. Is it LeBron? Dwayne Wade? Chris Bosh, although Bosh seemed like the tag-a-long from the start anyways.
But In Chicago, the Bulls have on clearly defined leader and that’s Derrick Rose. The thing that makes Rose stand apart from the rest of the league’s leaders is that Rose doesn’t view himself as a leader.
Or an MVP.
But as much as he doesn’t feel he is the leader of Chicago, or an MVP, he is certainly putting on a show that argues otherwise. If the MVP is determined by more than merely the best statistics of that season, if it is determined by who had the best season all around in terms of team morale, team leadership and how you play in the clutch, than Rose is the hands down winner.
I’m not trying to say this from a biased point of view, because if Rose was doing what he is doing on any other team I’d be saying the same thing. Rose isn’t simply just the leader of the Bulls, he’s is the pulse of Chicago.
He is so entwined with the Bulls that as he grows, so do the Bulls. When Rose was drafted and played his rookie year with the Bulls, he was not the only rookie, the Bulls as an organization were starting over and new again. As he got better and better, so did the Bulls and everyone around Rose.
Luol Deng was the over-payed scapegoat in Chicago, but now he is a detrimental piece of this championship caliber team. Joakim Noah was that goofball center from Floridawith the ponytail, now he is one of the league’s best rebounder’s. Even Carlos Boozer has been made to seem like a better player, and not even LeBron James could do that when he was with him in Cleveland.
That there is evidence enough of how different Rose is from James and other superstars. Another test is to name four players from the LeBron James teams in Cleveland.
You can’t do it unless you’re a die-hard Cav’s fan. If you were to ask anyone on the street to name four current Bulls, chances are you’ll get at least three. All credit for that is due to Rose. He share’s his spotlight and tries his hardest to just have it on his teammates entirely.
The reason Rose should be the hands down choice for MVP is that the Bulls are a good team as it is, but with Rose they are a bonified championship contender. The Bulls teams from the past two years were good but they were never seriously feared or considered real contenders.
This team however is scaring everyone and should they get the number one seed, and the road to the Finals goes through Chicago and the United Center, this team will instantly become the favorite out of the East. That is something that pre-Rose, was just a memory of the Jordan days. Rose gives his team an unbeatable and unmatchable swagger and for that alone he deserves the MVP.
So this then raises the question: Is Derrick Rose the NBA’s best point guard?
There are arguemnts both for and against Rose in this situation. On the one hand, all of the above reason’s are in of themselves great arguements as to why Rose is the best in the NBA. But he’s also still not invincible. You have a sort of confidence when Rose takes the final shot, but a truely great point guard isn’t gping to be taking the final shot.
The win will already be in the bag.
You’d have to ask yourself, if I was starting an NBA franchise from scratch who would be the first player I add? Because Rose is young and growing is not a skill unique to only him. Chris Paul is young and growing and so is Russell Westbrook. Both players are to their individual teams what Rose is to Chicago. All three are well known names not only within their fan base, but throughout the NBA fan base.
But again, what sets Rose apart from these guys is his sheer talent and if that doesn’t make him the best point guard in the NBA, I don’t know what does. Westbrook and Paul are really just two elemnts of Rose. Paul is the name brand, that meaning a lot of people know his name and who he plays for. He was a big name in college at Wake Forrest and that followed him to the NBA.
Westbrook, on the other hand, is the teammate part of Rose and that is probably what makes him the closest to Rose. Westbrook (much like Rose) was a name that had to build itself form the ground up in the NBA. And Westbrook isn’t even the star in Oklahoma, Kevin Durant is.
Rose it the star in Chicago, despite the fact he refuses that title. He makes his team better simply by being present and when the game is on the line, or the Bulls are down like they were in Miami, Bulls fans know everything will be okay.
And that’s why Derrick Rose isn’t just the MVP of the league this year, he’s the best point guard in the NBA.