The crowd at the United Center showered Derrick Rose with chants of "MVP! MVP!" -- the same letters fans in Los Angeles have shouted at Kobe Bryant for more than a decade. Rose had 29 points and nine assists, and the Chicago Bulls held off a late rally by the Lakers for an 88-84 win Friday night to match a season best with their fourth straight victory. "Feels good, but I won't let it go to my head," Rose said. "We've still got a lot more games to go." The Bulls hit eight 3-pointers, three by Rose, who made the shot a key part of his game during the offseason. He had a pair of big baskets in the final 93 seconds, producing just enough offense to keep Bryant and the Lakers at bay. "That's when good players are supposed to take over the game," Rose said. Reserve swingman Kyle Korver connected on a trio of 3s and scored 13 points for Chicago, which held a 26-13 edge in bench points. Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=301210004
Derrick's had a remarkable season. I don't think he deserves the MVP any more than guys like Deron, Dirk, Paul, Dwight, or {sigh} Lebron do, but I think he'll get more recognition than he deserves because he's the most entertaining to watch, and is the new kid on the block. What's really great though, is that he's firmly placed himself in that tier.
In fact, if there is one award Derrick really deserves, it would be Most Improved, but he has almost no chance of getting it.
lol so true denny. What derrick did last night is what all MVP's do. They will their team to victory! What was so amazing about the game was the fact when it truly was on the line, the lakers could not stop him! It was almost 1-5 and still, Derrick was not to be stopped! Amazing! Dare I say Jordanesque? Well maybe not yet! LOL Very fun to watch.
No one in the league has a first step like Rose. I've NEVER (maybe a young Iverson, but that's about it) seen anybody blow by people so easily the way he does. He accelerates to a gap the same way a runningback would. DWade, Lebron (though he's speed, not quickness anyways), hell, even Jordan, don't touch him in that regard. Aside from athleticism, Jordan was far superior to Rose in just about every way during his third year.
If the Bulls emerge as one of the top in the East Derrick should get MVP votes. Winning it is another story. OTOH, there are not many players more valuable to their contending teams than Derrick. This guy is the goods. Fastest player I've ever seen. Explosive. Physical. Amazing finisher. Killer instinct. Improving his game (that 3 point shot is deadly). Gonna be a nice run here in Chicago. Every game is a treat.
I'm not sure exactly where Derrick Rose is in the NBA's hierarchy, but he's firmly put himself in the top tier of guys. The nice thing about Derrick's shot is defense's will always give it to him. Even if he's hitting them at a 45% clip, you'd still rather have him take that shot than allow him to slice up your defense. And with Carlos Boozer in the post, you just have to pick your poison.
Have you checked out the three point shooting leaders lately. Unicorn has moved into the two twenty-five both in attempts and shooting percentage. How much do you want to bet that continues to rise. We're lucky to be Bulls fans, after a hell of a dry stretch.
And I will admit to being one of those people. FWIW, I still believe he needs to play better D and pass a little more; however, the former should come with more familiarity to the system while Boozer should help with the latter. Overall, he's really become a superstar in this league, I guess those 'Steve Francis 2.0' comparisons are put to rest.
His improvement this season is marked. The emergence of his three point shot is something many have been asking for since his rookie year. His ability to create for other is greatly improved to this point this year. His ability to completely take over games consistently during their most key and intense moments is newfound this season. His D is still suspect, but hopefully that will improve in time. He seems like a guy intent on being the best player in the NBA and is willing to do the work to do so. He's not about the $$$ or the fame. He wants to be the best. So the desire to improve will be there, IMO.
He needs to get to the foul line more, still, though it would be hard on his body (see DWade). Speaking of which, the NBA's defense rules are both helping the Bulls and making a mockery of the game, IMO. I don't think I've ever seen the game as physical (to the point players risk injury). I can't count (there are so many) the number of replays of Rose driving where he looks like a running back, protecting the ball with both hands, and taking like 4 or 5 steps like that going to the hoop. For one, it's travelling. For two, it's got to be a foul any time the ball gets slapped away from him.
To follow up -- And feel free to reduce the size of the quotation if you think it's too much... McGraw does a good job analyzing "Rose's weakness" of failing to get to the line. To me, it's not a weakness at all. It's a rebel against the system, and he's winning -- and so, by the way, are we as fans.
