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.  

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NBA LESSONS: v1.1

Felipe M

New Year, new name for our Random NBA Thoughts posts as we review and explain what we learned in the games that were played on January 8, 2013. 

Reggie, Reggie, Reggie: Power forward, Reggie Evans did what he has done best throughout his NBA career--REBOUND. However, in last night's victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, Evans set a new career high with 23 rebounds.  More impressive was that on most rebounds, he barely had to jump for the ball.  Evans can be best described as a big boulder--when he stands in one spot, it's almost impossible to move.

• To look at it a different way, Philly's big men Lavoy Allen and Spencer Hawes grabbed a combined seven rebounds--Hawes only grabbed ONE!
• Philly, as a team, grabbed 32 rebounds.
• The Brooklyn Nets grabbed 50 as a team. That means that Evans, by himself, accounted for 46% of his team's rebounding totals.  

He might lack skill, but Evans makes up for it in heart, hustle, and hard-work.

Taking a Wrong Turn at the Crossroad: We discussed Kris Humphries fantasy stock early in the NBA season and concluded that he would be a player entering the "Crossroads" of his career. We warned that Nets' management doesn't think highly of him and proved it by acquiring Evans and Andray Blatche in the offseason. Well, both of those players have sucked away at Humphries' minutes and production as the former Kardashian is seeing a decrease in average across all of his counting stats and a dip in FG%. 

While Humphries has struggled, Evans and Blatche have been given credit for helping franchise center, Brook Lopez become tougher as he has seen an increase in rebounding (as he tries to shed his reputation as a big man who can't rebound) and is finally averaging over 2 blocks per game for the first time in his young career. Lopez is also shooting over 50% for the first time since his rookie season. 

At this rate, Humphries will get more air time (as opposed to playing time) on NBATV's THE ASSOCIATION. And can we start a countdown towards the day the Nets finally get rid of the reality star?

Speaking of Rebounding: When I watched the Miami Heat host the Chicago Bulls last week, I didn't think the Bulls would be able to beat the supposed best team in the East, let alone beat them at their court. What I soon realized (as well as everybody in the NBA) is that what they have in skilled, perimeter players, they lack players who are willing to do dirty work inside the paint. The Bulls not only out-rebounded the Heat in that game, but they accumulated a lot of offensive rebounds and second-chance points. The Heat shot the ball better, shot more free-throws, and committed less turnovers. The Bulls had no business in winning that game, but they simply worked harder on the boards than the Heat--the Bulls grabbed 19 offensive rebounds in that game while the Heat accumulated 28 total rebounds. 

Let that sink in for a bit.

Fast forward to last night's game at Indiana and what do we get?

• Heat shot the ball better than the Pacers from the field and 3-point range.
• Heat shot better from the FT line.
• Pacers grabbed 22 offensive rebounds while the Heat grabbed 29 defensive rebounds!
• Heat ended the night with a total rebound differential of  -19.

Yet many "experts" believe that the Heat are still the best team in the East and have a really good chance of repeating as championships.  However, I just cited two examples where two Central Division teams, who are playing without their best players (Derrick Rose for the Bulls; Danny Granger for the Pacers--although, Granger might be relegated to 4th best with the Pacers' other talent stepping up, big time. Especially Paul George) are just man-handling, playing tougher defense, and working harder than the Heat. Yes, it's only the regular season, I guess, but even poor, rebounding teams get exposed in the playoffs too. 

Is Deron Happy Now?: We've discussed how Deron Williams was missing the good, old days in Utah, running the pick-and-roll for head coach, Jerry Sloan (before he got Sloan to resign from his post). Well, now that the team is being coached by P.J. Carlesimo, Williams' numbers look different than under coach Avery Johnson:

• Under Johnson: 16.6 PPG, 8.0 APG, 3.1 RPG, 3.0 TPG, 39.8% FG%, 29.5 3-PT%
• Under Carlesimo: 17.4PPG, 6.4APG, 3.3 RPG, 1.7 TPG, 45%  FG%, 45% 3-PT%

And to top it off, Williams is shooting 96% from the Free-Throw line! So Williams has increased his scoring, cut back on turnovers, and is shooting lights out basketball.  More importantly, the Nets are 6-1 under P.J. and don't have to beg for another PJ (Phil Jackson) to coach the team--for the time being.

Play of the Night: Spencer Hawes got the ball in the high-post and looked to pass the ball to the wing, where teammate Dorrell Wright was rotating. Hawes was guarded by Evans, whom tried to anticipate the pass to the wing to trap Wright--except that Hawes faked the pass, started dribbling towards the net, and with no one blocking the lane to the basket, Hawes had a clear path for an easy dunk. (the play can be seen at the :43 second mark).

Buck Out: The Milwaukee Bucks and head coach Scott Skiles decided to part ways yesterday. Many fans joked that since Skiles is out, perhaps the Bucks' frontcourt would start seeing some consistent minutes and production. Here are the results:

• Ersan Ilyasova: 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 5/10 shooting from the field
• Larry Sanders: 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 6 blocks, 5/9 shooting.
• Luc Mbah a Moute: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 5/11 shooting.
• John Henson: 12 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 4/7 shooting. 

Suddenly, the Bucks have depth at forward.

Trade Rumors: Grizzles' forward Rudy Gay might be shipped to the Phoenix Suns. The Suns, however, are gun shy to be taking such a high salary and giving up 1st round picks to Memphis--and they might be hesitant to trade away Jared Dudley. Dudley must have heard about the trade speculation because he played better than usual:

• Dudley: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals--all above his season average!

Grizzlies' management simply don't believe they can honestly contend for a championship this season and they don't want to continue paying, approximately $15 million to keep Gay around. Real shame.

Fan Night: This was a real treat for Lakers Hater Nation as L.A. went to Houston, short-handed as Jordan Hill, Pau Gasol, and Dwight Howard are out indefinitely with injuries. The stage was set for a blow out loss and for Kobe Bryant to chuck up 40 shots only to make less than 50% and to see him get frustrated and yelling at his teammates to, "just get the rebound and pass me the damn ball!"

And then a funny thing happened:

• Right off the gate, the Lakers played with a lot of heart, high tempo, great ball movement, and draining 3s like their life depended on them. 
• The Lakers shot 45.2% from 3-Point range.
• Robert Sacre, the default starting center, played with a lot of energy and looked more like a linebacker than a center, but he was on a mission to not let the Rockets dominate the paint--from either side of the court. 

NBA fans started thinking that it took injuries to their star, big men to finally see head coach Mike D'Antoni's fast-paced, up-tempo style of offense to finally work in L.A. Lakers' fans were drinking Laker Kool-Aid and started seeing a near-future of scrappy, perimeter players gassing out other teams with their video game, style offense. And then Howard and Gasol would come back and solidify their playoff chances.

But then reality settled in as the Rockets, who play a similar offense showed that they were more talented, younger, faster, quicker, and stronger than the depleted Lakers. Yes, the Lakers scored 112 points...but they gave up 125 to the Rockets. 

Proving once again that even the best fantasies don't come to fruition in Hollywood.

Low Minutes, High Impact: We've discussed Dirk Nowitzki's and the Dallas Mavericks' playing with renewed energy (even though they're still losing with him) since he has come back into the lineup. The Mavs are playing tougher as a team, but with all the losing, Nowitzki has gone public in his desire to play for a winning team and would prefer to get traded than undergo a rebuilding process in Dallas.

Another player who is coming back from knee surgery is Ricky Rubio. We are seeing the same thing in Minnesota--even though they're still losing, the team plays differently and with more fervor whenever Rubio is on the court (we've even seen a slight improvement in Derrick Williams' play in the last few games with Rubio back on the court as well). The impact that Rubio has made is apparent and a quick look at his stats from last night's game can be used as a personification of his significance to the club:

• 4 points (all from the free-throw line), 8 assists, 4 steals in EIGHTEEN MINUTES!

He was dishing on offense and hawking on defense!  (The Vikings should have used Rubio as their quarterback on Saturday night!), With Kevin Love out with a fractured hand, Rubio coming back slowly, but surely is not only important for Rubio's individual performance and confidence, but also more paramount for a franchise and a fan-base that is just crying and begging for hope.  Rubio can provide that light at the end of the tunnel. 

Quote of the Night: Was watching an episode of NBATV's OPEN COURT and Charles Barkley gave us a gem (it's an oldie-but-goodie): 

"What do you call a power forward that only averages 6 rebounds per game? A small forward."

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2012 RANDOM NBA THOUGHTS: Vol, 3

Felipe M

Two games were played in the NBA on December 27, 2012.  But it was also a day filled with controversy as well.

Dallas Mavericks vs Oklahoma City Thunder: The Mavs seemed to be on a mission to end a losing streak in OKC, while the Thunder just looked flat and blase through 3 quarters.  The Thunder turned on the intensity in the 4th quarter, however, and Russell Westbrook who played terribly throughout much of the game, took over in the Overtime period to finish off the Mavericks. 

However, the real story was not that the Thunder pulled off the victory from the jaws of defeat on an otherwise expected win at home.  No, the real story was just how well the Mavs played with Dirk Nowitzki on the court.  The numbers would suggest a different story (3-11 shooting, only one assist, and a plus/minus of -13), but this has to be filed under "intangible impact."  The Mavericks just simply played with a renewed gusto on offense throughout much of the game.  They played more confidently, more crisply, and even quicker than the suffocating Thunder Defense.  Even Nowitzki was pulling off his famous, one-legged jumpers.

Unfortunately, all of that didn't matter once the 4th quarter began, but we watched a glimpse of what it could be for the Mavericks in the near future with their best player coming back from knee surgery.  In the present, nonetheless, Nowitzki showed rust and lack of stamina.  TNT's Steve Kerr marveled at coach Rick Carlisle handling of Nowitzki's minutes, stating that the goal was to limit him to approximately 24 minutes.  Nowitzki played 25 minutes at the end of regulation.  In the overtime period, Carlisle sat out Nowitzki and one would think his night was over.  However, with a minute remaining in the OT, Carlisle, inexplicably, put him back on the court where he clearly did not want to have the ball on offense and in one play on defense, Westbrook put so many moves on Nowitzki that it looked like he would not only break his ankles, but also re-injure Nowitzki's surgically repaired knee.  

Nowitzki, after the game, admitted that his stamina was not up to par, but stated that he thinks he should be playing with very few limitations in about two weeks.  In the meantime, Mavs' fans everywhere, including the impatient Mark Cuban, will just have to patiently wait for Nowitzki to come around again.  

THE NETS FIRE AVERY JOHNSON: Not surprisingly, Johnson was finally relieved of his duties from the Brooklyn Nets, finishing his season at .500.  Not where management wanted their team to end the calendar year after an offseason full of gutsy moves and over-and-uber-hype (despite the hype, I predicted that the Nets were not as good as many people thought).  But aside from the mediocre December, anybody paying attention to this team could have seen the writing on the wall.  

The biggest bomb came when star player, Deron Williams admitted that he was not happy with Johnson's system and waxed nostalgically about his days in Utah--the same Jazz team he basically destroyed when legendary coach, Jerry Sloan resigned from his position after a heated conflict with the guard, and the club then decided to part ways with Williams by trading him to the Nets. But somehow, Williams would like to return to that offensive system.  Weird!

Along with a disgruntled Williams preferring a different offensive system (whether the motion or pick and roll, evidently), the players seemed to have tired of Johnson's act and his behind-the-scenes, ulterior motives (which is ironic because currently they have all of these cameras filming every move from every team member for THE ASSOCIATION).  Johnson was also making a big stink about a contract extension, while the team wanted to take a wait-and-see approach to decide if Johnson would be rewarded with said extension.  Most importantly of all, Johnson was not GM Billy King's guy.  Add to the fact that any NBA fan could see that Johnson was just the wrong man for the job when he was originally hired and it all results into his firing.  

Right away, I thought that Phil Jackson would be the front-runner, but David Aldridge has already squashed that rumor.  Would have been great to see a lot of angry and panic-stricken Lakers' fans.

DWIGHT HOWARD GETS FINED $35,000 FOR FLAGRANT FOUL: As Charles Barkley hilariously mentioned on TNT last night, "that's a lot of money, right there." Poor Dwight Howard--he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.  Earlier this month, Bobcats' forward, Gerald Henderson, put up a dunk on Howard that was so ferocious, that it had Antawn Jamison leaping from his seat on the Lakers' bench. Clearly, Howard was probably--for lack of a better term--warned to not let that happen again.

Everyday, we're finding out more and more that behind all of the goofiness and immaturity is a big kid in a man's body who has a fragile psyche.  As many young players can tell you, playing with Kobe Bryant doesn't really help unstable matters.  Ask Kwame Brown how his experience playing with Bryant went.  Or better yet, ask Andrew Bynum, whom Bryant has been treating like a personal whipping boy since Bynum was first drafted by L.A., urging the Lakers to trade him to another team so the Lakers can get more established talent around him.  That finally came to fruition this past offseason, but the Lakers have yet to reap the rewards of all the moves that brought them said talented, established stars such as Howard and Steve Nash. 

While Bynum admitted that playing with Bryant can do wonders for a player trying to develop his game in the NBA, Bryant can also obstruct a player's progress.  Not only that, but Bryant has a reputation for being impatient and very demanding of his teammates, which is admirable seeing how that approached worked with Michael Jordan while he was with the Chicago Bulls.  However, when he was playing with the Wizards--well, let's just say, ummmm, well, let's ask Kwame Brown what he thinks about playing with Jordan.  Basically, Bryant can be pain.

So all I'm wondering is, how much is Bryant messing with Howard's head, heretofore.  The flagrant foul that Howard committed on Kenneth Faried wasn't as bad as the one Bynum committed in the 2011 playoffs. However, Howard was out there to make a statement to the rest of the league in case they thought that they can get easy dunks and lay-ups on the supposed best center in the NBA.  While Bryant did not defend Howard after the game, one has to wonder how much did Bryant berate Howard to not let anymore easy baskets in the paint happen ever again.  Knowing how Bryant operates, Howard showed Bryant that he got the message.  

Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Clippers: What was supposed to be, in my view, a matchup of two great point guards, turned out to be an example of the visiting team's arrow going down and the home team's arrow going up--more like "lobbing up" and then being caught in mid-air and slammed down a 10-foot basket.  Neither Rajon Rondo or Chris Paul played an astonishing game in terms of statistics, but Paul got the last laugh notching 11 assists to only 3 turnovers and a +15. Rondo on the other hand posted only 6 assists, commited 4 turnovers and got tagged with a -24. 

As much as Barkley warned that the TNT audience last night that the Clippers would not be efficient when the game slowed down and their defense was still suspect, the Clippers held the Celtics to only 77 points, constricting the Celtics' offense with a rejuvenated defense (even Lamar Odom looked great with 13 rebounds and 4 blocked shots), and were able to score efficiently in transition or on half-court; with their starters or their bench players.  As much as people want to question the Clippers defense, they are ranked #3 in terms of points allowed per game and 2nd in opponents' FG%.  Something else that the Clippers struggled with last season was rebound differential.  Around this time last season, they were on the negative side.  This year, they're ranked 10th in the league in that category with a +1.7. So it's looking very good for Los Angeles--not the Lakers'--Clipper fans at the moment. 

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