Derrick Rose was very quiet (for him) in his first All-Star start: 11 points, 5-for-13 from the field, 1-for-2 from the line, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, a steal and a turnover in 29 minutes and 56 seconds.
If you’re a Bulls fan, this wasn’t the Rose you know and love. At times, he looked like he simply wanted to defer to his teammates, let them do the heavy lifting, while he stood back and enjoyed the show. Other times, he looked overly cautious on offense and simply lost on defense.
He became a little more intense in the second half. But the Derrick we saw against San Antonio last Thursday apparently got left behind in Chicago. I’m fine with it. That’s where he belongs.
Hey, fans love it when their favorite player dominates the All-Star Game. I’m sure Lakers fans are feeling pretty good today, what with Kobe going crazy (37 points and 14 rebounds) and winning the MVP award. And Heat fans probably feel almost the same, what with LeBron racking up the second triple-double (29 points, 12 boards, 10 assists) in ASG history, although they might feel a little queasy over D-Wade’s ankle tweak.
But we all know the All-Star Game is a glorified exhibition where the only things on the line are bragging rights and reputation. But Rose cares not for these things. He wants to win. And the Bulls are his top priority.
So if he seemed to be going at half-speed during the Skills Competition, or if he was mostly a highly skilled spectator during much of his 30 minutes of action last night, I’m willing to forgive him.
Save it for the second half of the season, Derrick.
We all know what kind of season Rose is having. And check out what Celtics coach Doc River had to say about Rose and the Bulls: “If I had to vote, [Rose is] the MVP of the league. And when you have one on your team, especially with all the other guys, they’re right in there. They can beat us; we can beat them. It’s going to be tough.”
Of course, Rivers doesn’t have a vote, and, as of right now, history seems to be firmly against the Rose-as-MVP talk. But, again, I’m fine with that. All-Star Games and MVP awards are nice. Championships are nicer.
Which do you think is most important to Rose?
As for those, uhm, interesting yellow shoes Derrick wore during the game? According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the shoes, along with his blue uniform, were a tribute to his alma mater, the Simeon Wolverines.
Said Rose: “That was a shout-out to them.”
And, apparently, Rose got needled about them by his All-Star teammates “the whole game. ‘Why’d adidas put you in those shoes?’ Stuff like that. It was all fun and games. I love the shoes. They’re my shoes. I’d wear them all the time if I could, but they have to be your team colors.”
Speaking of team colors, the Bulls return to action on Wednesday in Toronto. The next night, they have a homecourt showdown with the Heat before another five-game road trip that ends in Miami. Life won’t get any easier any time soon…even with Joakim Noah returning from thumb surgery.
The East lost the All-Star game because of TOs. Take a look at who made those TOs, LBJ, Wade and Bosh contributed 11 of 21 TOs. Pierce, Rondo and Allen contributed 6 of the 21 TOs. These are all-stars. The game was a joke. It did not look anything like basketball that I enjoy, goo solid defense.
In my opinion they lost the game because of offensive rebounds. It was ridiculous, more than once seeing the West getting 3 or 4 offensive rebounds on one possession. Men against boys on the glass, didn’t really have anything to do with basketball. The game wasn’t nearly as exciting as in previous years, but they almost pulled it out at the end, which did have me on the edge of my seat.
Glad to see Derrick not trying to get the “oohs and aahs” from the crowd like he gets at the UC, after all it is and exhibition (watch those ankles Dwyane). Now back to business boys!
OF COURSE IT’S NOT GONNA LOOK LIKE THE DEFENSIVE GAMES YOU ENJOY IDIOT IT’S AM ALL-STAR GAME!!! WTF!!!!!
Ha ha. Note from David Stern to himself: Never let Thibodeau coach the All-Star Game.
kobe was going to win MVP regardless….he’s trying to one up MJ in as many categories as possible….it was obvious.
Well if the Bulls have the best record next year, he’ll have to
CHI – make a move now, or else NY will bounce us in the 1st round!
@Inception, Wow really? A little quick to panic aren’t you? The Knicks do not have the depth this year to compete with the top teams and yes that includes the Bulls. Maybe if they build their team in the coming years that will change but to panic right now over a team with two all-stars and no depth whatsoever is a bit much. The Bulls, Celtics, Heat, & Magic would all win a playoff match-up against the Knicks as currently constructed in my opinion.
Yeah totally Inception, it’s not like the knicks aren’t overrated, or play the type of style that never has and never will work in the playoffs. I don’t know about you but the sheer thought of going up against guys like Renaldo Balkman and Shelden Williams gives me the willies bro. Yes, 2 games over .500 is very intimidating and completely warrants the amare for mvp talk. The 2 games we played in the beginning of the season you can forget about because it’s a different team now, but even then the 120 112 shoot out against NY will not be replicated in the playoffs. The knicks will be exposed come playoff time. The double dose of Thomas and Noah will make amare wish he stayed in Phoenix. Billups will get yelled at by No D’Antoni for talking all the defense nonsense, and Melo will continue to be inefficient and a ball hog. Yup, sounds like a team to beat.
I see your points, but let’s not forget Billups is running the team at point…yes, he’s old and not the player he once was, but the guy can still play and has championship experience….maybe they won’t eliminate CHI, but they might come close if the series turned into an offensive battle.