Wednesday, December 15, 2010

The #1 stat man in Chicago: Derrick Rose


Picture: coresteams


Too big. Too fast. Too strong. Too good.

Stacey King doesn’t need to say anymore than that.

At 6”3’, Derrick Rose ignores size restrictions by breaking them all. And he likes to break ankles on the way.

Every year I find my love for a new Chicago team. In 2006, I finally fell in love with the Bears. They had a devastating defense with the revival of the Monsters of the Midway and Devin Hester was phenomenal, leading the offense to the Super Bowl--without ever taking a snap on offense.

In 2008 it was the Cubs. I loved watching Ramirez, Fukudome, DeRosa, and the rest. That was a great season…if you can somehow forget about the tragedy of rape because that’s what the Dodgers did to them in the playoffs. I’ll never forget being at Game 2, yelling at Fukudome to “SWING AT THE BALL!” And screaming at Soriano to “QUIT SWINGING AT THE FUCKING BALL!”

Then in the fall it was Kane and Toews peaking my interest in the Blackhawks and bringing my hung-over ass to freezing Wrigley Field for the Winter Classic on New Years Day. It still awes me to think that those two superstars are just a year older than me yet are in their fourth NHL season. Oh, and Stanley Cup Champions.

I guess what I am saying is that great performances by great players or likable characters attract me to sports. Enter Derrick Rose.

The summer he was drafted I remember the hype. I remember the talking heads on ESPN debating about who would be drafted first--Michael Beasley or Rose? As a hater of the NBA, I didn’t really give a shit. Moving on.

When the NBA season finally arrived, I turned on a game once in a while. It was fun to watch Rose play because he had great ball handling skills and drove the lane with such determination that teams had trouble stopping him. But all in all the team was hard to watch, going 41-41 that season. I’d watch occasionally, but NBA players REALLY pissed me off. Players like King Baby James and King Douche Varejao of Cleveland were always whining and bitching like THAT was their job and NOT basketball. So the only reason I watched was to see what Derrick Rose would do on the court. Then came the historic First Round of the 2009 Playoffs against Boston. That was the most exciting thing I’ve ever watched on TV. Period.

I’ll admit to barely watching the Bulls after Rose won the Rookie of the Year Award. I caught bits and pieces of the 2009-2010 season, but to put it in perspective, I didn’t realize the team was even in the playoffs last May.

This year is different. 

First, watching college games in person changed my perspective on the game. It is fast, intense, and takes a tremendous amount of skill that I admire now more than before. Second, the NBA is better to watch than college. They are grown men playing ball at a superior level. For instance, the ball goes in the hoop.

What really got me going on the Bulls this season was their first meeting with the Lakers on November 23. Rose was tearing up the court. He was making shots he had no business making and flying through the air in ways my Physics professor said wasn't possible. He ended the game with 30 points and a conversation with Kobe Bryant...apparently I'm not the only one that can see this young player starting to blossom into a versatile star.

Anybody who has seen the guy play knows he is good. No doubt. But have you seen him play since the middle of November? No? Then you haven’t seen the new Derrick Rose.

Rose was just 19 years old when he played his first game with the Bulls 2008. He averaged 16.8 points per game, 6.3 assists, and a .222% 3-point shot, making 16 his inaugural year. A good season for a rookie.

Last year he averaged 20.8 points, 6 assists, and a .267% 3-point shot, once again making only 16. Another good year.

Rose came to the Bulls with “established” leaders like Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, and Luol Deng in place. He tossed the ball around a lot and got these players open while making some great plays in between. Two years later, that is changing. After last year’s 26.8 points per game in the playoff series against Cleveland, it has been Derrick’s team, and everyone knows it.

Rose continues to work hard and improve parts of his game. He has the “push” shot from 10-15 feet nearly perfected, which works in tandem with his driving ability. His jump shot has been improving, although with a .479% FG average, it’s hard to say somebody can improve much.

But now something else is happening in his game that is starting to demand respect: Rose is sinking the money shot.

Derrick Rose is averaging .421% behind the arc this season; 40 3-pt field goals this year. He only made 32 in the past two seasons...it is still December. Speaking of December, as of right now he is 22 for 40 in his downtown attempts for the month…55%!

What is really beginning to impress me, and the NBA, is his ability to finish and to will his team to a tough victory. He is starting to pull through in big moments with huge shots. He did it in the win last Friday against the Lakers just as he did against Houston the Saturday before. Since the middle of November, he has turned up the intensity and is looking like a man who is just going to get better.

Rose is putting up 24.7 points per game so far this season and here is why, from a statistical standpoint.

In two complete seasons, and so far this season, Derrick has had 15 games of 30 or more points. All 15 of these games have come in the past year, and 7 are from the first 22 games this season. The Bulls are 5-2 when Rose scores at least 30 points; the only two losses coming against elite teams in the Lakers and Spurs. But he isn’t hogging the ball more than a point guard should. Throw on the 8.3 assists average to his points per game and you have a dangerous playmaker touching that ball after every inbound play.

Without Rose, the Bulls look like shit. He orchestrates the offense in a way no one else on the team can replicate. Not even the spectacular C.J. Watson. Rose drives the paint so successfully that the opposing defense gets pulled into defending him. He is literally a point guard that drives the gaps like a needle, deflating the defense so the outside shooters have open shots.

And he is a man. He isn’t hot headed (who can’t show off once in a while with that kind of talent?) and you can see he is working hard to be better. Not to mention the intangibles. He hates to lose.

Think about the great players of the last 10 years or so. Who comes to mind? MJ? Kobe? LeBron? Howard? Peirce? They all get this look on their face when they drive to the hoop and destroy the defense. A look that says, “You thought you could stop me? Back off my lane.” Derrick is getting that at the age of 22.

Rose is the leader a Championship team needs. Oh, and Derrick also has more 30-point games than Kobe Bryant did in his first three years. Don’t blow that out of proportion. I’m not saying Derrick is Kobe, one of the best players of all time. 

I’m just saying that Derrick has a long way to go. I’m just saying he is on the right path.

Rose has the attitude of a champion. I can see it. I have spent the last few weeks watching tape on Jordan and Kobe and have noticed some things. Early in their careers they just went about their business as superstars. But after a few seasons they developed an intense desire to win. That desire is what transforms amazing players into pure greatness. Derrick’s attitude is beginning to mimic theirs.

This is the evolution season. He has already evolved in 22 games from very talented to MVP caliber. He IS the offense when he is on the court. He is the ever-present threat. Further, he WILL continue to get better. He is not arrogant enough to think he is just good enough. He understands he has to add to his skill set every year, and that maturity is what will separate him from the rest.

Oh, wait. I think he started to break away last spring.

Without seeing much tape on Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, Isiah Thomas, John Stockton, Kidd, Nash, etc, I don’t want to come to an ignorant conclusion about where Rose will end up in his career. I don’t claim to be an expert (yet).

Yet, with that being said, Derrick Rose will be one of the top 20 players of the present decade. Or he will be in a cast, AI style. Tempted to make a bolder suggestion, I’ll leave it at that. The proof is on display, multiple times a week. And I’m ready to absorb as much as I can from the top player in Chicago for years to come.

-Skitz


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