And maybe you’ve been wanting to read one.
We knew when the lottery balls bounced in the Chicago Bulls favor in 2008, they were likely to get a franchise player. The vast majority of Chicagoans wanted Derrick Rose because they saw something special; the rest wanted Michael Beasley because he fit on the team better, because he was supposed to be a low-post option (but few people pay attention to college basketball all season outside of those who decide to bet on the NCAA tournament).
But it was Wednesday night when Derrick Rose finished off the Oklahoma Thunder for the team’s fourth straight road victory in what is becoming the turning point for this team, and maybe more importantly, the turning point for a franchise that has floundered for a decade.
We watched Michael and company dominate a decade, and we heard about the next one that had something to do with Eddie Curry and Jay Williams. The sport became largely irrelevant in a sports-obsessed city. It’s a town that is frozen in January and just got to know this game known as hockey in the last two years, saw a mildly successful Bears team for a few years and witnessed two baseball teams with varying success.
Underneath it all, there were the Chicago Bulls. Irrelevant. Bad. Going nowhere.
And—gulp—boring.
It’s mid January 2010 and the Bulls finally have an all star again in Derrick Rose, who put together—dare I say it—a quiet 26 points, seven assists and a handful of rebounds against a good team on Wednesday, hours before the backups for the 2010 all-star game would be announced.
There’s little doubt that Rose will be announced as a member of the team this year, since the offense operates entirely through him. He’s a star, and he’s still rising.
This trip brought something out of Rose. Something clicked; the same way it had for Joakim Noah in last season’s playoff series with the Boston Celtics. As I’ve written before, it’s a movie cliché: The inspirational quote or the down-trodden moment that gets to someone, irks them so badly, tests their deepest desires that they feel compelled to do something.
Rose is as confident as I’ve seen him. His shot is true, he’s fighting over screens, is being more creative on the pick and roll and is showing instinct for knowing when to attack late in games.
It can’t be a coincidence that this team is playing better than they have all season when their franchise player is playing the best ball of his NBA career. Yes, stars matter in the NBA and the Bulls—as I feel—are closer to a championship today.
This season was about Derrick Rose’s development, a competent team that could make a playoff run that would prove free agents they were on the cusp of being better, clearing cap space, Tyrus Thomas showing maturity and Vinny DelNegro showing a thorough understanding of the game.
We’ve learned that Thomas will probably be playing in Greece in three years and still would make an all-world volley ball player but can’t crack the lineup on an average to bad team.
DelNegro has been at his best when he stays out of the way, and it looks like the Bulls are headed for another one-and-done in the playoffs.
But, I’ll take the first one, and we add in Noah’s brilliance this season, the 22-22 record looks a little better. And by the way, can you remember a more tumultuous season? Losing to the Nets who are on pace to set a record for least wins a year, losing after holding a 35-point lead to Sacramento Kings, losing by 40 points to the Toronto Raptors with players tying their shoes during play and even losing to the Golden State Warriors who fielded a mere four NBA players this month?
And even Rose looks like a microcosm for the 2009-2010 season. He started the year so woefully average and passive, it was impossible to not be discouraged about his progress from the previous season. This was, after all, a 20-year-old Rookie-of-the-Year who is as reputed for his work ethic as his athleticism. There were little signs that his jump shot was any better, his defense looked to be the same or worse, his explosiveness was definitely not on display and it looked like Ben Gordon was sorely going to be missed.
Not in January. Rose has looked like the star we envisioned, and for a specimen as gifted as this one at the point guard position, we begin to see someone who can truly be the league’s best at the position. Yes, Derrick Rose can be a top five player if this keeps up.
And, yes, it’s just a stupid exhibition game, one where super stars will lob alley-oops to themselves off the backboard on two-on-one fastbreaks. The game doesn’t matter. In fact, don’t watch it. Do something productive like rearranging the plate ware in your cabinets—it’ll probably turn your wife on or something.
My wife: "What are going to do this afternoon?"
Me: "Oh, reading…and um, I’ll be reading…and I’ve got to do something for work (thinking about video games or looking at YouTube highlights) and I think I’ll probably work out."
My wife: "Oh, well you might have free time today so you might want to consider putting the cabinets in order."
(Translation: Do it , or else I’m going to do it myself and talk about it all week, giving me absolute leverage in every disagreement we have, so it’s really your loss.)
Me: (Thinking I’ll probably just do it and reference it forever.) “I’ll do it…yes!”
So, yes, the game doesn’t really matter but Rose’s status does. This Bulls team has increasingly become relevant again in very short time. It was something I didn’t see coming.
But maybe, after 10 years, the day had to come: The Bulls have a star again, and it feels damn good.
Contact Mike Mitchell at michaelkennethmitchell@gmail.com
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