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| Photo: ESPN |
Afterward, when I crawled into bed, a notion I had been grappling with for much of this NBA season was cemented: Derrick Rose is done. So I did what any young, right-minded NBA fan would do: I grabbed a box of Kleenex, and wept through 50 minutes of 2008-2011 Derrick Rose YouTube clips. Here's my favorite:
Skip to 1:15. The PA announcer mentions the college of every other Bulls starter, but Rose, who's "Frommmmmmm CHICAGO." People forget that Rose is a homegrown product -- #1 overall pick from Simeon (same HS as Jabari Parker), Rose played in and started in 88 of 89 games in year one, 83 of 87 in year two, and 97 of 98 in year three. Rose won an MVP during LeBron's absolute prime -- and did so at the age of 22. To recap: I'm 22, and my greatest accomplishment to date is a DiMaggio-like, 16-day streak of consecutive days making my bed.
What you'll see in that embedded video above which I realize no one watched is the essence of prime Derrick Rose. He had this uncanny ability to find crevices in the defense and get the ball up on the rim amongst the trees. Remember he's only 6'2.5(!). The 40+ inch vertical also helped. A blow-by guy who made everything from 8 feet and in. I liked his jumper much more when he was younger because he could elevate and get a little more arc on an already naturally flat shot (in 2014-2015 it looked like he was trying to shoot a bowling ball). Rose was also the first guy that had opposing team's TV announcers saying "That's Your Point Guard?!?!"
When attacking the rim, DRose had this unique ability to violently protect the ball -- it's kind of hard to explain but restated: Rose often exploded into the paint seemingly out of control until the very moment he released the ball -- when the ball came softly out of his hands. He didn't need to slow down to shoot -- most guys can beat their guy off the dribble, but have to slow down a second before the release to gauge how much power to assign to that particular shot.
Last nostalgic video, I promise: Derrick Rose baptizing a young Goran Dragic. Ludicrous.
I'm fully aware I haven't yet shared any original, ground-breaking news or analysis with regard to Derrick Rose. But here's my one theory: losing Derrick Rose is mitigated by the fact that we have Russell Westbrook -- another, 6'3-ish, gravity-defying point guard who, like Rose, is also more often a recipient of alley oops than any other PG in recent memory. Obviously, no one is happy about Rose's injury-laden career, but he became semi-exposable when Westbrook ascended to a top 5 player at his position. Derrick Rose was doing Russell Westbrook things before Russell Westbrook.
At the end of the day, Rose is 26 years old. I would love if -- against all odds -- Rose salvaged his über promising early career with a title or two in the next decade. But perhaps it was too good to be true: a hometown kid and mind-numbing athlete, with an on-court disposition that rubbed few (if any) the wrong way, couldn't stay on the court. Godspeed, #1.
Skip to 1:15. The PA announcer mentions the college of every other Bulls starter, but Rose, who's "Frommmmmmm CHICAGO." People forget that Rose is a homegrown product -- #1 overall pick from Simeon (same HS as Jabari Parker), Rose played in and started in 88 of 89 games in year one, 83 of 87 in year two, and 97 of 98 in year three. Rose won an MVP during LeBron's absolute prime -- and did so at the age of 22. To recap: I'm 22, and my greatest accomplishment to date is a DiMaggio-like, 16-day streak of consecutive days making my bed.
What you'll see in that embedded video above which I realize no one watched is the essence of prime Derrick Rose. He had this uncanny ability to find crevices in the defense and get the ball up on the rim amongst the trees. Remember he's only 6'2.5(!). The 40+ inch vertical also helped. A blow-by guy who made everything from 8 feet and in. I liked his jumper much more when he was younger because he could elevate and get a little more arc on an already naturally flat shot (in 2014-2015 it looked like he was trying to shoot a bowling ball). Rose was also the first guy that had opposing team's TV announcers saying "That's Your Point Guard?!?!"
When attacking the rim, DRose had this unique ability to violently protect the ball -- it's kind of hard to explain but restated: Rose often exploded into the paint seemingly out of control until the very moment he released the ball -- when the ball came softly out of his hands. He didn't need to slow down to shoot -- most guys can beat their guy off the dribble, but have to slow down a second before the release to gauge how much power to assign to that particular shot.
Last nostalgic video, I promise: Derrick Rose baptizing a young Goran Dragic. Ludicrous.
I'm fully aware I haven't yet shared any original, ground-breaking news or analysis with regard to Derrick Rose. But here's my one theory: losing Derrick Rose is mitigated by the fact that we have Russell Westbrook -- another, 6'3-ish, gravity-defying point guard who, like Rose, is also more often a recipient of alley oops than any other PG in recent memory. Obviously, no one is happy about Rose's injury-laden career, but he became semi-exposable when Westbrook ascended to a top 5 player at his position. Derrick Rose was doing Russell Westbrook things before Russell Westbrook.
At the end of the day, Rose is 26 years old. I would love if -- against all odds -- Rose salvaged his über promising early career with a title or two in the next decade. But perhaps it was too good to be true: a hometown kid and mind-numbing athlete, with an on-court disposition that rubbed few (if any) the wrong way, couldn't stay on the court. Godspeed, #1.
