POINT/COUNTERPOINT: Brooklyn Nets

@nbadebates25 I think the #Nets are very overrated. They're going to be a good team in the East--by default. They're not that special
— Felipe M (@pathological_h8) October 23, 2012

@nbadebates25 Lopez is weak in the middle on D. Johnson is a weak perimeter player. Wallace's best days are behind him. All big names #hype
— Felipe M (@pathological_h8) October 23, 2012

Felipe M

Check out our take on the Philadelphia 76ers.

Hasan R. and I now look at the future prospects of the Brooklyn Nets for next season.  

Felipe: I thought the Nets were a very overrated, overhyped team coming into this season and I definitely think the Nets are in deep trouble after their disappointing, first round loss at the hands of the Chicago Bulls. This team looks like a perpetual, average team if they decide to bring everybody back.  The only coach that can fix their problems, Phil Jackson, doesn't want to coach that team.  Ownership has created a high-pressured environment to the club, but a veteran team with very little upside does not bring championships. 

Hasan: Nets are definitely in a bad space.  Ownership just spent without thinking what was best for the future, which probably leads to the Brooklyn Nets possibly missing out of next season’s playoffs or coming in as 7th/8th seed. 

Felipe: Let’s not forget the situation in Brooklyn was magnified because of Deron Williams.  His play and conditioning at the beginning of the year was inexcusable.  You can tell that he started taking things more serious when Avery Johnson was fired.  Not only did his play improved, but he started losing weight as well.  Nevertheless, your franchise player has to show commitment from day one, not when the coach gets fired.  I think investing all of this money and energy for D-Will to be the focal point of that team may have been a mistake. 

Hasan: Can’t argue with that statement on Williams.  D-Will earned himself the title of a “coach killer,” so best of luck to whoever the Nets hire to coach this wreck.  Deron needs to learn to play with this team and that is the key to their success. They are lucky to have Brook Lopez and if they can figure out schemes that maximize his potential and build a successful offense that utilizes him, they can eke out a bunch of victories.  

Felipe: And I know I referred to Lopez as soft at the beginning of the year, but I tip my hat off to him for making the All-Star team and showing more heart in the paint area, on both sides of the ball, than in years past.  The Bulls were still able to bully him at times, but held his own and even stepped up his production in certain statistical categories (especially blocks and rebounds) in the series vs. the gritty Bulls. 

On the downside, one of the players getting credit for helping to add toughness to Lopez’s game, Andray Blatche will probably not re-sign with the team as he played well enough to get a bigger contract than the one-year deal Brooklyn gave him this season. 

Hasan: Unfortunately, they have no choice but to reload in the free agent market and D-Will better get out there and start recruiting.  Then again, it’s hard to utilize that strategy when they are pretty cash-strapped and only time will tell who they can afford this offseason.  Other teams are better prepared for this current free agent market and the Nets may not have what it takes to create a better team to make it out of round 1 of the playoffs next season either. 

Felipe: And that’s what happens when you try to build a club in a rushed manner like the Brooklyn Nets did in the last couple of seasons.  

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DERRICK ROSE: 2012-13 NBA Summary

Felipe M

I did not want to post an entry on Chicago Bulls' franchise player, Derrick Rose.  I'm so sick of reading about the guy and sharing my comments on the internet that I saw no point in doing so.  Everybody in the world has had their say on the matter.  Adding more content would be like adding fuel to a funeral pyre.  However, as a die-hard Bulls' fan, people are always asking me, around the country, what my opinions are on Derrick Rose and this season.  And a lot of times, there are people, both inside and outside of Chicago, that show how misinformed they are of the situation.  

So, once and for all, I will give my official thoughts on Rose and next time somebody asks me about him, I will just go ahead and share the link to this post.  Like most of you, I hate repeating myself...

At the beginning of the season, I was all for Rose to not come back for this campaign.  After seeing Rose play through a myriad of injuries in the last few seasons, as his style of play and the heavy minutes he gets as the Bulls' point guard AND primary scorer have been the main culprits in preventing Rose from properly recovering from his various ailments, I thought the best thing for his reconstructed knee was for him to take the year off.  From a cynic's standpoint, Rose injuring his knee against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Playoffs was probably the best thing to happen to his health.  It would at least help him recover from his other physical ailments.  Remember, after the Bulls' playoff run would inevitably finish (whether in the 1st round or in the NBA Finals), Rose was 100% intent on playing in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.  So as a selfish Bulls' fan, we dodged a major bullet by having this knee injury force him to skip the sporting exhibition known as the Olympics.  I was mostly optimistic about how the knee injury would force Rose to play more like a "true" point guard and help him preserve his body and shield him from the unnecessary rigors that are caused from his aggressive style.  Call me Mr. Brightside.  

The zenith of his various injuries and ailments did not come with this knee injury--that was merely a somber conclusion.  The big red flag that all of us should have been paying attention  to was when he had to be hospitalized for stomach ulcers.  Rose blamed it on "spicy food" and promised to cut back and change his diet, however at that point of his career, he was struggling with a nagging back problem (the main physical ailment, theretofore) and many people were thinking that the ulcers were really a result of taking too many NSAIDs; over-the-counter pain relief medication that is notorious for razing one's stomach lining (speaking from experience here).  If you're a pro basketball player and have stomach ulcers due to pain meds to suppress the pain from various injuries, you're either due for a cut in playing time, or are due for a long break.  The one silver lining of getting hurt was that Rose would be getting a much deserved break from NBA action.  

Then came talks that Rose would definitely, without a doubt, return in the spring in time to lead the Bulls' 2013, playoff charge.  At first, I was against the idea, citing that the Bulls, as currently built, are not good enough to go after an NBA title as the Miami Heat were looking like the potential, repeat champions that everybody thought they could be this season.  My thought was, "enjoy the rest, continue to rehab hard, continue to follow doctor's orders, and come back stronger than ever for the start of the 2013-2014 season."  

But then I started looking around and saw other NBA players with similarly serious knee injuries of their own.  We even chronicled the statuses of a few players recovering from these knee injuries: 

• There was Dirk Nowitzki laboring in his return from surgery, but improving his play with every minute on the court.  
• Another budding, NBA poing guard was Ricky Rubio, who was also struggling to come back, but his impact, though limited, was felt immensely by his team and his fans.  
• Let's not forget Iman Shumpert injured his knee the same day as Rose.  

But the most remarkable story of the NBA season was John Wall's recovery from a stress injury in his knee.  Many people thought the knee injury was a lot more serious than the team and player lead on and there were rumors and thoughts from some publications and many fans alike that thought the injury was close to being career-threatening.  However, on January 12, 2013, Wall came back and played and was on the court for 21 minutes, scoring 14 points and helping the Washington Wizards do something that they have struggled to do up to that point--win a game.  Not only did John Wall finish the season strong (after not seeing 30+ minutes until his 5th game and playing less than 30 minutes in 8 of his first 11 games), but the Wizards went 22-18 between the months of January and March and finished 24-25 overall with Wall in the lineup.  The team won 5 total games without Wall.  That's progress!

So I was encouraged to see other players recover, slowly, but surely as each passing game saw these players getting stronger and growing more confident as they tested the limitations of their rehabbed knees.  Of course, the one superstar not doing this was Derrick Rose.  As mentioned, I was fine with him not playing at all this season.  Even after the Bulls had announced that he was cleared to practice and eventually play a real game.  

And then I read this article from Dan Bernstein, where he states that playing in live action NBA games is actually part of Rose's rehab program.  At least according to Dr. Brian Cole; the same doctor that performed the knee surgery on Rose:

"You have to play to play.  All these muscle patterns have to kick in.  You can do that off the court informally, but there's a lot of benefit to playing."

Guess who didn't wear his
green jersey on St. Patrick's Day?
(photo courtesy of Felipe M)

And then the rumors coming in March as the city of Chicago impatiently waited for his "The Return" to finally come to fruition.  "He will come back sometime during the Bulls' recent west coast trip" one report advised, while other rumors suggested he would come back in time for March 18 against the Denver Nuggets--a "welcome home" event of sorts.  Then we were told it would be against Portland, but then rationale dictated that he would have to play against divisional foe, Indiana.  However, he would not show up to any of these games.  In the meantime, Rose would neither affirm or deny the claims that he would come back on certain dates.  Instead, we were getting vague answers and excuses.  Due to the vagueness of Rose's responses, I will only quickly list the type of rhetoric he used when addressing the issue of his return:

• I'll come back soon, after I'm finally cleared to play (gets clearance from medical staff)
• I'll come back as soon as I'm close to 100% (reports indicate he's "looked good in practice)
• I'll come back when I can start dominating like I know I can (reports and quotes from teammates indicate that he's "been dominating practices")
• I'll come back when I can start dunking off my injured knee (watch this video)
• I'm not sure if I'm coming back at all, but I wouldn't rule out anything (regular season comes to an end)
• I never said I was going to shut it down, but I might still play (Bulls don't have enough healthy players on roster)
• I might play in the next game, but it will depend on how I feel (Bulls defeat the Brooklyn Nets in 7 games)
• I might play sometime against the Heat (Bulls eventually get eliminated by the defending champs in 5 games)

Rose never saw an official NBA minute.  As mentioned before, I didn't mind Rose missing the rest of the year to recover and start fresh for the 2013-14 season.  But all of this loafing and waffling from Rose was a major turn off and really put in question his leadership and character qualities that have endeared him to NBA fans all over the world.  To me, if you're going to play, then play; if you're not going to play, then just say so and get it over with!  But stop with the teasing!  What did it accomplish?  Absolutely nothing!  How difficult was it to just say the following statement?

"Due to my knee not being 100%, rather than risk further injury in an attempt to hasten my return to live basketball action, I will not come back to play for the rest of the 2013 NBA season and will, therefore, regroup with a fresh start in time for the next training camp"

Still waiting...
(photo courtesy of Ricardo Ponce)

And what the hell is he doing trying to come back for the playoffs?  The appropriate time to come back and ease yourself back into playing shape was in the REGULAR SEASON!  I've been saying this throughout Rose's injury and I will repeat myself one last time: the NBA Playoffs are not the place to be rehabbing from knee surgery.

And that's where the major disappointment in Rose comes from in my point of view: his unwillingness to continue his rehab program by playing on the court during the regular season and his Brett Favre-like, "I may not play, but don't rule me out just yet" antics that he pulled off throughout the season.  Whatever the motive for him to keep tantalizing fans of his "The Return" is beyond me.  However, one thing's for certain; he has tarnished his reputation and his likability among NBA fans.  He has become a joke.  His toughness, both physically and mentally, is now questionable at best (Brad Beal certainly questions it).  

Again, I won't forget how Rose would play with reckless abandon prior to the knee injury.  I won't forget how he personified Chicago with his style and toughness.  I won't forget how his stomach lining was ruptured due to pain meds in order for him not to miss a game.  I won't forget how the Bulls have treated their players' health in recent years and I wouldn't blame Rose if he doesn't trust the Bulls' medical staff at all.  

But I won't forget how players like Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Taj Gibson and Nate Robinson were playing heavy minutes under heavy duress and various ailments in these playoffs when it would have been understandable for these players to sit out for a prolonged period of time (and in the case of Deng and Hinrich, they did and I don't blame them).  

Most importantly, I won't forget how Rose blatantly decided to jerk the team and the fans around  for the latter months of the season and playoffs.  I won't forget his indecisiveness.  I won't forget the double-talk.  And I won't forget how he went from being one of the biggest superstars in the league to becoming a punchline.

Will definitely use the rest of the summer to make me forget this episode.  Just like Rose, I too will seek a fresh start in time for training camp.  

More NBA content is available here. 

DERRICK ROSE: Running of the Bulls

Johnny J

Derrick Rose has not worn a game jersey all
season long.

Chicago Bulls star guard Derrick Rose is watching his team get outplayed by the Miami Heat. With the Bulls on the brink of elimination, Rose continues to say he isn't ready from his torn ACL injury. The same injury that has kept him on the sidelines for the past year. But that isn't true, Rose has been practicing for the past two months. From what I can tell, he can do everything from run, jump, and clap his hands on the bench, while his teammates continue to play through various injuries and ailments. I wonder what goes through his head when he sees his teammates out on the court giving their all?

Rose is one of my favorite players in the NBA. He is the only Bulls' player whose jersey I actually bought. He is a hometown kid who has won over the city of Chicago with his unique style of play. His quick cuts and his hard play has led to the 24 year-old winning the MVP two years ago. The same player who had been drafted number one overall by the Bulls in 2008. The one who led the Memphis Tigers to the NCAA Championship Game. Named Mr. Illinois Basketball in 2007 and won multiple championships at Simeon High School. So its safe to say that Rose has been a winner all his life. Why would his attitude or credibility be an issue now?

He tore his ACL a year ago. The same-day New York Knicks' guard Iman Shumphert tore his ACL in the first round of the playoffs against the Miami Heat (never wear Adidas and hoop!).  He came back in the middle of the season, in the month of January to be exact and has been better than ever.  This guy is a key player for the Knicks.  He moves pretty well for someone who suffered a serious knee injury 9 months ago or so.  He struggled at first, but he gained confidence over the past couple of months.  He now averages 8.8 PPG, and 6.3 RBP in the playoffs. Rose's confidence may not be there, but he has to play to regain it, to recover it. To once again be at the head of the pack in the "Running of the Bulls."

(I have been saying that he should have done that during the regular season, like his doctors suggested of him as part of his rehab regiment.  Columnist Dan Bernstein shared his sentiments about a month ago--Ed)

The season may end for the Bulls tonight, as they have already stated that Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich will not play in Game 5.  It would be nice for Rose to intimidate the Heat by suiting up.  Shock the country and play. Boost your team up.  Be the hype man as Flavor Flav was to Public Enemy. Do something people won't expect. Let your fans know why they cheer for you and what they mean to you as an athlete. Lead the team out of the tunnel.  Make a public service announcement.  Tell us your credibility is about to take off. The Bulls are still in it, but for how long?  Is it just going to be another trip to South Beach or a round trip back to Chicago?  You maybe the one who makes this playoff series hard for LeBron.

The city needs you; the fans need you.  Your team needs you. Show them that you never lost that first step. Show them your confidence is tilted up. I haven't worn my D-Rose jersey all year long. Give me a reason to pull it out!  Run with the Bulls!  Spain isn't the only country who does that. Defend the United Center, defend the line-up introduction video with the Bulls running through the opponent. Play your game and your skills will slowly get back in form. Get mentally strong in the game.  You have the heart of a champion. Prove it!

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Photo courtesy of Johnny J.

NBA LESSONS: v5.1

Once again, the #Bulls out rebound the #Heat. One would think Miami fixed that issue for the #NBAplayoffs #NBAlessons #firstplaceissues
— Felipe M (@pathological_h8) May 7, 2013

Felipe M

Game 1 of the NBA Playoff match-up between the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat took a surprising turn as the short-handed Bulls upset the Heat in Miami on Monday night.  But if one were to take a closer look at the team statistics after the game, fans shouldn't have been that surprised as the Bulls have found ways to compete with, and even beat, the Miami Heat (minus one blowout) during the regular season with a similar formula for success.

As a Bulls' fan, I know better than to rely too heavily on regular season success.  However, we've seen the Heat struggle against the better, rebounding clubs in the NBA.  I even went as far as saying that "poor rebounding teams get exposed in the playoffs."  Sure enough, that's what happened in Game 1.  However, before we look too deep into Game 1, let's take a look at how both teams have fared against each other in the Regular Season to see if there's a pattern that we should be noticing.

Here is the first match-up of the regular season:

January 4, 2013 at Miami
Team	Score	3PT%	FT M-A	FT%	Total Rebs		Off Rebs	Pts in Paint
Chicago	96	35.7%	19-24	79.2%	48	19		46
Miami	89	25%	24-31	77.4%	28	4		34

As the score will indicate, this was a very close game.  The rest of the stats will prove that as FG%, Assists, Turnovers, etc. are pretty even.  However, as the table will show, despite the Heat attempting 31 free throw attempts, seven more than the Bulls (this stat is always a concern because of their three superstars: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh and a tendency for officials to give them more foul calls), the Bulls, as I explained back in January, simply out-worked the Heat in rebounds and points in the paint.  The Bulls also shot a lot better from 3-point range, which would solidify their victory in Miami.  Nevertheless, the hard work done in the paint and in the glass against a seemingly, more finesse Heat team is the blueprint to victory.

Unfortunately for the Bulls in the second match-up, the Heat were looking for revenge and made Chicago look like "Lambs at the Slaughter":

February 21, 2013 at Chicago
Team	Score	FG%	FT%	Persnl Fouls	Stls + Blocks	TOs	Pts in Paint
Miami	86	50.7%	64.3%	15	20	17	38
Chicago	67	37.3%	81.8%	15	14	26	38

The Heat were hitting on all cylinders in the 2nd game, but despite the impressive field goal percentage, the Heat only scored 86 points.  However, their defense actually showed up in this game, as the allowed only 26 points combined in the 2nd and 4th quarter of this game.  The Heat controlled the tempo on offense.  One thing worth nothing is the high FT% that the Bulls shot.  This would be a recurring theme as the Bulls, despite getting lesser attempts at the line, would go on to dominate in terms of percentage.  

I spoke of the Heat controlling the game's tempo, but as one will notice, personal fouls called were distributed evenly.  Favoritism, in this regard, has not been shown to the Heat, but it's worth noting that of the four regular season games, the 30 combined fouls were the lowest called in their games.  The other three games always had a minimum of 35 fouls called combined by both teams.  Perhaps the lowered fouls called proved to benefit the Heat's preference to run up-and-down the court (again, "tempo").  

As mentioned, the Heat's defense came to play in this game as they were the more aggressive team on the defensive side, accumulating more blocks and steals and creating more turnovers.  The Heat would continue to dominate the "Steals+Blocks" category for the rest of this series.  However, despite the defensive prowess, the Bulls scored 57% of their points from the paint area.  Another recurring theme as this should be a red flag for a Miami Heat team that's had a reputation for being a perceived finesse team with no formidable defensive big man in the middle (Bosh, it seems, is not the answer).  So despite actually tying the Bulls in this category, the Heat settled for more jump shots (again, finesse) that were going in at a higher rate.  Nevertheless, all the jump-shooting meant less free throw attempts (only 14 in this game).  Despite the blowout, this game was more indicative of the Bulls' struggles on offense at this juncture of the season.  The way the Heat were playing, the results should have been a lot worse for the Bulls, but they only lost by 19 points.

#heatstreak? More like #heatstroke whoo! Great job #Bulls
— Felipe M (@pathological_h8) March 28, 2013

One of the most exhilarating games of the 2012-13 NBA season, the Bulls found a way to end the Heat's 27-game winning streak.  Not only did the Bulls win, but they won without the heart, soul, leader, and big presence in the middle, Joakim Noah:

March 27, 2013 at Chicago
Team	Score	FT M-A	FT%	Tot Rebs	Off Rebs	Asts	Pts in Paint
Miami	97	16-23	69.6%	31	6	15	54
Chicago	101	13-18	72.2%	43	12	27	40

The Heat were awarded more FT attempts, but not by a large margin.  And once again, they shot worse than the Bulls from the charity stripe.  If the Heat would have shot better from the line, perhaps the result would have been different.  Not listed on the table is that the Heat, again, dominated steals + blocks, but only had a +5 on the turnover margin.  They did a good job of controlling the ball and not making mistakes on the offensive end.  Unfortunately for them, it only produced 15 assists.  

However, the Bulls' win can be attributed to going after the Heat's weakness: dominating the glass.  Even though they took care of the ball, the Heat found it hard to get the ball back.  Twelve offensive rebounds for the Bulls means more time to kill off the clock by regaining ball possession and less of a chance for the Heat to score.  Fouls were called pretty evenly and a total of 35 were called in this game.  Again, the Bulls might benefit from more fouls being called as it slows down the Heat's uptempo style.  

Finally, the Heat did a good job scoring 54 points in the paint--with no Joakim Noah there to clog the middle, defensively.  Before this game, the Heat only averaged 36 points in the paint against the Bulls.  The fact that the Bulls were able to score 40 in the paint (42 points in the paint/game in the first two games against the Heat) without the services of Noah speaks volumes.

So inadequate free throw shooting along with terrible rebounding ended the Heat's historic winning streak.  For the finale, the Heat would avenge this loss, but not in a very impressive way:

April 14, 2013 at Miami
Team	Score	FG%	3-PT%	FT%	Tot Rebs	Off Rebs	Pts in Paint
Chicago	93	35.4%	42.3%	77.4%	45	11	24
Miami	105	51.4%	35.3%	65.9%	44	4	44

It is worth prefacing that both Noah and Taj Gibson were out for this game and the Bulls still managed to keep this game close.  The Heat won on the strength of their shooting, but the Bulls were able to keep it close with their free throw and 3-point shooting.  Despite having 10 more free throw attempts than the Bulls (41-31), Chicago still shot a better percentage from the line.  

Rebounds were pretty even without Gibson and Noah, but the Bulls still managed to grab 11 offensive rebounds.  And the Heat's "Big 3" played for more than 31 minutes/player so that's pretty inexcusable.  At least they dominated the paint by outscoring Chicago by 20, but that's like me getting 20 more points against a five-year old guarding me in the paint.  

Which brings us to Game 1:

May 6, 2013 at Miami
Team	Score	FG%	3-PT%	FT%	Tot Rebs	TOs	Pts in Paint
Chicago	93	43.7%	38.9%	82.8%	46	15	40
Miami	86	39.7%	29.2%	68%	32	8	32

What do you see?  The same formula that the Bulls have been using to be successful against the NBA Champions.  This time, however, the Bulls were shooting the ball better than the Heat.  Usually, the Heat have the advantage in the shooting department, or at worst for them it's pretty even, but the Bulls have not shot the ball better than the Heat.  Add to that the Heat's woeful 3-pt and FT%; if Miami just makes one more 3-pointer or hits a few more free throw shots, we might be talking about a different result.  

One will also notice that the Heat took extremely good care of the ball in this game.  Also, the offensive rebounds were pretty equal.  Nevertheless, the same recipe that help defeat the Heat in two out of the four regular season games is in full effect in this playoff game--Bulls outrebounded Miami by 14.  You add the fact that the Bulls, once again, dominated points in the paint and that pretty much sums up the Bulls' formula in defeating the Heat in this series: control the glass, control the paint.  Chicago will not outplay the Heat in the perimeter and will not win a shootout (at least not often) against them either.  The Bulls have to do the two things they have done well against the Heat this year--glass and paint.  

Again, many people were dismissing the Heat's rebounding struggles in the regular season by justifying that they would be ready for the playoffs.  Although the Heat have held their own in the rebounding department this postseason, they finished dead last in rebounds per game and were among the worst teams in the rebound differential category as well.  As mentioned before in early January, "poor rebounding teams get exposed in the playoffs."  If the Heat don't correct that part of their game soon, their chances to repeat as champions will disappear.  Because if they're struggling against the Bulls now, what happens in the event that they have to face the Indiana Pacers in the next round?  Why the Pacers?  Because they finished as the best rebounding team in the NBA.  

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