I know most people don't care about someone else's fantasy league, so I'll try to limit how much I talk about the league (and my team) here at BBS. But as you remember from last season, you are going to hear about the players I love (and follow more closely because they are on my team), like Kevin Durant.
Part of the reason I bring up the draft is because I'm road-tripping with another of the BBS writers, Kmart (@kmartbbs), and we will spend the trip discussing our future podcast. We're both very excited to go Audi-Bull. The plan is to mainly discuss the Bulls, some NBA, and maybe even some fantasy. Plus, it's going to be live, so anyone can call in and talk to us. It will be a lot of fun. Check back next week for updates.
As always, the links:
The Bulls’ Rose Also Rises
If the road to N.B.A. superstardom were paved with All-Star votes and YouTube highlight reels alone, Derrick Rose would already be a player of legend. He would be the subject of folk songs, star in countless tall tales, and be immortalized in bronze alongside Michael Jordan outside Chicago’s United Center. Unfortunately for Rose, such are the spoils reserved for the game’s true elites, and while the young Bulls guard is among the brightest up-and-comers on today’s N.B.A. scene, Rose’s rise hasn’t quite mirrored the meteoric brilliance of, say, Kevin Durant.
Durant’s status as a top-tier star is indisputable; he’s a phenomenal player by almost any evaluative standard. Rose, on the other hand, resides in a gray area just shy of being a full-fledged star.
Not that Rose himself sees the discrepancy. Durant is the early favorite in the most valuable player race, and Rose, according to FanHouse.com, puts himself in the same class.
“Why can’t I be M.V.P. of the league?” Rose said. “I’m more comfortable this year, with both our defensive and offensive sets. I’m way more comfortable out there now, and that should make me a better player this season.”
Why can’t Rose be M.V.P. of the league? Let me count the reasons.
Based on last season’s statistics, Rose’s résumé doesn’t stack up to his elite contemporaries. For a player whose primary contribution is scoring, Rose doesn’t do enough to compete for the honor. He’s efficient enough with his shooting, but his deficit in total scoring production gives him an advantage on that front. Rose’s playmaking is fine, but he’s far from a point guard in the mold of Steve Nash (according to HoopData.com, Rose’s assist rate, or the percentage of his possessions that culminate with an assist, is comparable to the less-than-immortal Sebastian Telfair and Jonny Flynn). His defense is often marked by poor effort and faulty execution, and over all, Rose’s teams have been decent, but hardly noteworthy. Rose won’t contend for a most valuable player discussion without considerable growth.
Such growth is not all that uncommon among third-year N.B.A. players.
Bulls had the best disappointing summer ever
In any other summer, the Chicago Bulls would have been off-season darlings.
They acquired what seemed like half of the Utah Jazz’s roster — Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, C.J. Watson and Ronnie Brewer (the long-time Jazz player who had a cameo last year with the Grizzlies) — and hired the league’s most well-regarded assistant, Boston defensive guru Tom Thibodeau, to be their head coach.
Of course, this was not any other summer. Instead, they tried and failed to sign LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. (At one point, they seemed particularly close to getting Wade, a local product.)
Still, though, there is plenty to like about the Bulls, who could throw an interesting wrench into a Celtics-Heat Eastern Conference final that it seems everyone has agreed will happen.
“I think they definitely filled the one void that they’ve always needed for a number of years,” Raptors point guard Jarrett Jack said Wednesday after his team had prepared for a meeting later in the evening against Chicago.
“Even with Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich, when they had all those effective perimeter players, the one thing they always needed was an effective low-post scorer, somebody who they could throw the ball to in the waning moments and get those easy baskets or easy looks when things got a little hectic. Adding Carlos Boozer is definitely a tremendous help.”
Derrick Rose has new weapon: a personal chef
Derrick Rose was looking forward to this Friday for two reasons.
Foremost, the Bulls play their final exhibition game and he is eager to get started with the regular season. Secondly, Rose was anticipating the first day of services for his personal chef.
The idea, Rose says, is to lead a disciplined lifestyle so that he can stay healthy throughout the arduous NBA season.
"I just got a chef, so eating right, getting rest, not going too many places. … If I'm in the house, just laying around the house after practice, not going out …. things like that," Rose told us Thursday following the annual Bulls Luncheon at the Hilton.
From ESPN (via BlogaBull)
Post a Comment