Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Rose makes convincing case for MVP



To most viewers watching the Bulls and HEAT the last two weeks, Derrick Rose is now without question the league’s MVP. The Bulls are now 6-2 since the All-Star break with no sight of slowing down. The Bulls have now moved two full games ahead of the HEAT for second place in the Eastern Conference. Derrick Rose’s sound leadership and decisions have brought the Bulls to their best record in over a decade.

Even though he doesn’t have quite the stats that Lebron has, Rose knows what to do to help his team win. Whether it’s making a great pass or going into the lane for an amazing drive, Rose can do it all. He is eighth in the league in scoring, and tenth in assists. He often responded to his coach’s challenges and led the Bulls while Noah sat out two months with an injury.

After the HEAT’s loss to the Blazers tonight Lebron’s chances to win the award have only decreased. Even though he had another great game, his 31points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists weren’t enough to lead the HEAT to victory. Lebron has won the award the last two seasons when his team had the best record in the NBA, or at least the best record in the East. With the HEAT’s latest struggles combined with their upcoming schedule they will likely finish in fourth place. This late season collapse should certainly remove James from the conversation.

The only other person who really has a shot at the MVP trophy besides Rose and James is Howard. He is once again dominating everyone in the paint and proving to the NBA that he is the best center in this league. However, his teammates are light years behind him. Nelson is the only one who is clutch and who can play at an elite level.

Expect even more great games from Rose for the remainder of the season. Out of the Bulls final twenty games only 7 of those games are against playoff teams. They have already cleared the hardest part of their schedule by playing the last six out of eight games on the road. They are only 2 ½ games out of the top spot in the East. They currently have a 27-4 record at home and look to gain home court advantage throughout the playoffs. The last time the Bulls had home court throughout the playoffs was in 1998, the last time they won a championship.

At only twenty-two years old he is already carrying a team on his shoulders. If he wins the MVP this season, it will be one of many he will win throughout his career. He remains fearless of any player which stands between him and the basket. So far the Bulls have had several exciting playoff series with the Cavs and Celtics in years past. Even though they lost to the Cavs in six games last year, it was the Bulls determination and grit to make the playoffs at the end of the regular season which stood out to me. In the Celtics series two years ago, Rose and the Bulls pushed the champs to seven games. These experiences have helped mold Rose into the point guard that he is today. Watch out NBA because Derrick Rose will only get better with every season that passes.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

At the start of the NBA’s second half, no teams in position to break Bulls 72 win record



Back in August, ABC commentator Jeff Van Gundy had this to say about the new look Miami HEAT: “They will break the single season win record of seventy-two games.” Now as the second half begins we can see just how far fetched that is.

Scottie Pippen had choice words for Van Gundy calling him a “jackass” for his prediction that the HEAT would break the Bulls regular season record. The Heat are 43-19 and it’s not even April yet. I know HEAT fans will say that they didn’t get close to the record because it’s their first season together. That’s a pathetic excuse. The 2007-2008 Boston Celtics finished the regular season 66-16, and that was the first year Allen, Pierce and Garnett played together.

Because the Heat are taking on three max players in their prime, they have left no cap room to bring in good talent. Their minimum wage role players will never be able to help them get close to the Bulls record. Not now and not ever.

What the Bulls accomplished in the 1995-1996 may never be emulated. It takes 82 games of complete focus and some luck. The Bulls of the mid 1990’s were solid at every position and their players fit into Phil’s triangle offense. If a team has any injuries that will cause them to lose any number of games, they can kiss their shot at the record good-bye.

Look at this season’s Spurs. They were 46-10 coming out of the All-Star break. If they had gone on a twenty-six game winning streak (which would be the second longest all time) they would only match the Bulls record. However last week’s game against Memphis was thought to be a huge blow to the Spurs who lost Tony Parker to injury. He strained his left calf and was expected to be out for 2-4 weeks; however he ended up only missing two games.

The scariest thing about the 1995-1996 Bulls is that three of their losses came by one point. So they had a realistic chance to finish the season at 75-7. No team in the last decade could even dream about that. The 2006-2007 Dallas Mavericks finished at 67-15, and the 2008-2009 Cleveland Cavaliers finished at 66-16. Since the Bulls record setting season, the closest team to finishing with a similar record was the 1996-1997 Bulls at 69-13.

At the beginning of this season it seemed like the Spurs had a remote chance to come close to the record, especially when they were 28-4 through December. Even though they are an extremely well disciplined team, there was simply no way for them to win as often as they needed to. Perhaps one day the Bulls record will be broken, but it’s highly unlikely. They are the only team in NBA history to win 70 games or more, and fifteen years later their record still stands. As an NBA fan it’s important to respect the record because we may never see anything like it again in our lifetime.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Mike Bibby looks to spark the HEAT's weak point



According to AOL’s Sam Amick, recently bought out Wizards point guard, Mike Bibby will take his talents to South Beach. This is a great move for the HEAT, who have struggled to find any kind of consistency at the point guard position all season.

Bibby is best remembered for his days with the Sacramento Kings when he led them to several conference finals vs. the LA Lakers almost ten years ago. He is a clutch shooter, and don’t be surprised if he hits some big shots in the playoffs for the HEAT. He lives for big moments.

Imagine him in a game where the defense collapses on Wade or James, and as they drive to the hoop they kick it out to Bibby for three. That’s money in the bank baby. He is playoff tested and knows exactly what to do in close game situations. Against the Knicks earlier this week Miami looked unsure of how they would set up plays and who would control the offense in the crucial parts of the game. Even if Bibby can’t guard someone like Rondo or Rose, his offensive output will be enough to overshadow that.

Look at the Lakers who have won the last two championships with an aging Derek Fisher starting at point guard. Last year, he averaged only 7.5 points and 2.5 assists while shooting under 40%. He doesn’t have great regular season stats, but he always comes up big for them when they need to make a shot.

Mike should get the starting job almost immediately. Mario Chalmers has had some decent games in the last couple of weeks, but he’s not half the point guard Bibby is. Bibby is a better three point shooter, averages more points per game and more assists than Chalmers. The only thing Chalmers has over Bibby is that he gets more steals per game than Bibby, but that reason alone certainly isn’t enough for him to start.

The HEAT are second in the Eastern Conference with a 43-17 record. With only twenty-two games left, Bibby will help them battle for that precious number one seed against the Celtics and the Bulls. Usually when I see the box score for the HEAT, the big three are the only ones who reach double digits. However, that will become a thing of the past as Bibby will become Miami’s first legitimate role player who can score in double figures consistently.

Miami is still lacking a good big man to complete the last piece of their puzzle, but I read on Hoopsworld that Eddy Curry will be on the way after being bought out by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Apparently he fell so out of favor with Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni that he wasn’t even in game shape because he knew he would never play another game for the Knicks. Now he is seeing his trainer in Chicago trying desperately to get in shape to possibly start at center for the HEAT. Now that’s funny!

Bringing in Bibby is more than enough for the HEAT. Curry is too big of a risk (in more ways than one). But hey look at the bright side, at least now Miami will have an easy scapegoat ready for when they lose in the playoffs.