We're still doing these, right?

Pretty 'meh' day for basketball, besides the BOS/MIA game that starts in a few minutes. This game determines the panic-level of the site for the next few days: if MIA wins with ease I'm pretty sure some people will go into typical BAB form and crappy trade ideas and random player bashing will ensue.

Also, anyone else notice how fucking terrible Noah and Boozer are at setting screens? Sheesh. I remember Asik setting an actual good one in the GS game, and Rose was able to get to the basket and score.

[Thanks to Stacy_Is_King for today's game preview (sign up!) A little late being made, and later by me putting up. Bad job all-around (and you guys get excused since I don't offer anything but the bright lights of the front page), but better late than never. 

Game is at 9:30 on CSNChicago locally, and NBATV nationally -ed.]

Quick Note: I planned to putting up the preview ~3 hours before show-time. But since people get restless around here [ed. note: Yeah, I should put a drop-dead time in advance from now on, we had 2 random other previews when they saw nothing was up in the afternoon], I guess I made a mistake. If I had known it should've been up earlier, I would've done it yesterday. I'm sorry, guys. I'll post it earlier next time.

Fact: The Bulls have been playing great lately. I think we can all agree that, although there's been a few hiccups along the way, bringing a 2-1 circus-trip record into Laker-town isn't something to dread. The only problem is, well, this is Laker-town. And the Lakers have been the best team so far this season, without a doubt. Does that mean we don't have a chance? Well, let's continue after the jump.

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If this isn't the proper way to ask, I apologize in advance.

I've been thinking a lot about Rose's defense, and I was wondering if anyone with Synergy Sports could provide some sort of analysis on Rose's defense compared to some other PG's (namely the ones known for average+ defense, Westbrook, Evans, Rondo). I've always seen Rose's defense as average to slightly below average, but never nothing that is making our team lose games. If you're not willing to put the time into making an in-depth post, if anyone could provide me with info, I'd be happy to put it together myself.

Thanks in advance (hopefully this will get more a reply)

In all seriousness, I'm far from a eloquent writer. So hopefully I'll receive some assistance in bringing along this topic, which I think has some potential for great discussion.

Earlier in this season, none of us were satisfied with Rose's development. He was tentative, confused, and wasn't utilizing his ability to its full potential (with some of us going as far as declaring our hatred for him, hehe). But then, out of nowhere, (I believe it was Kobe who spurred him into gear?) Rose went on a tear. He started taking over at the end of games, while making it look easy in the process. He made a big push in Dec/Jan in his play, and it elevated him into All-Star status. And since then, he's been consistently brilliant.

Of course, there were other areas of Rose's game that we hoped would blossom. A great number of us doubted that Rose had the instinct, the mindset of people like Kobe and Lebron. Rose naturally liked to defer to his teammates, and he was just a shy kid from Chicago with great hooping skills. Personally, I believe this changed when Rose predicted that we would make the playoffs. Before then, Rose had never said anything that would put him out there, and make him susceptible to criticism. But Rose boldly declared that the Bulls would overcome all odds and make the playoffs, and I think that's something worth recognizing. We can now say he's shown the skills, AND the mindset of a #1 overall draft pick in the NBA.

For perspective's sake, let's compare Rose's second year numbers (total + when healthy) to some other PG's that Rose has to catch up to:

I think we can safely say that Rose has potential to become one of the greatest scoring PG's of all time (I'm pretty young, so I don't really know who's up there...but for perspective, Isiah Thomas' best PER season was 22.2). I remember earlier in the season where Jennings > Rose points were common, and Rose was constantly being compared to Aaron Brooks.

So I'll let you interpret the stats as you wish. But the questions I pose to you are: How satisfied are you with Rose's development this year? What are you expecting for next season? Where do you think Rose's ceiling is?

This is hypothetical, of couse. Let's say we sign Dwade next year. Would you trade Derrick Rose for a all-star big man?

For me personally, I wouldn't be willing to do it. We could give him up in order to win championships asap, or we could allow his potential to explode and become a phenom. I've fallen in love with Rose's game, and I'd hate to see him play for another team.

Saw this on FearTheSword, thought it was really cool

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Saw this on CelticsBlog, thought it was a cool post.

The Celts had KG, Powe, and some other good guys last year. But Atl took them to 7. Many people think a fully-powered Boston would've destroyed the Bulls. Do you think the Bulls would've had a chance against them last year?

And also, who do you think was better: Atlanta of 08 or Bulls of 09?

Personally, I think it's impossible to decide on the first question. Everyone thought the Celts would beat us in 6 games or less, but we were able to show enough heart to pull through (at least, to 7 games). I think the Bulls were a much better team than Atlanta; they were, what, I think 7 games under .500? Had the Bulls played the way they did after the trade (including the playoffs), they would've won 55 games, according to the math.