Quick Side Note

The 2009 NBA Playoffs have been great. We have seen a ton of buzzer beaters and stars emerging from the woodworks. As the Conference Finals unfold, the first two games in each series were decided by three points or less. This is one of the best playoffs I have seen in a while. I just have one problem…What’s with all the tick-tack fouls and crying?

A guy gets called for a foul and he’s whining like someone broke his Ninja Turtles action figure. Someone tosses a ball or swings an elbow, and the opposing team is jumping around pointing the finger as if they are second graders snitching on the kid that stole the animal crackers. Come on guys! I’m going to need the NBA players to grow up. This is basketball, and despite what your entourage tells you, you are supposed to get bumped and bruised. I’ve watched Nene bear hug Pau Gasol and then look bewildered when he was whistled for a foul. Kobe Bryant has five technical fouls in this year’s playoffs and they are all for running his mouth. Simply Unacceptable.

It’s not just the players fault though. The disposition that they are taking is nurtured by the referees. Everything is a foul, a technical, a flagrant. Players have become so dependent in these freebies, that they feel slighted when things do not go their way. Official Joey Crawford leads the way when it comes to being quick to blow the whistle. Don’t believe me? In 2007 he tossed Tim Duncan from a game for laughing on the bench. He’s getting even worse with time.

What really puzzles me is the over usage of the flagrant foul. Just because a guys falls hard to the ground, does not mean that a flagrant foul should be issued. This is playoff basketball. No shot should go uncontested, even if that means having to knock someone on their bottom.
I remember the first playoff series I ever saw. It was the early 90’s and my Dad was a huge Pistons fan. At the age of five I don’t remember much about the game, but I do remember Chuck Daily calling a timeout and every member of the Pistons team was bleeding. These guys were going hard and doing whatever it took to win a championship. They were not complaining when they got beat up under the basket because they were returning the favor. More importantly, the refs were letting the guys play.

I’m not asking for much. All I want the refs and remaining teams competing for an NBA title to do is watch the 1989-1990 Eastern Conference Championship between the Bulls and the Pistons. Watch how those guys play hard. Look at the lack of complaining. Look at how no one calls a tech when Dennis Rodman elbows Stacey King in the chest. That’s how I want you to conduct yourselves during the remainder of the post season.

A Budding Rose

A year ago this time I was a nervous wreck trying to write my very first piece on the emergence of Chris Paul. A year later, the play of the Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose is giving me déjà vu. With a first year campaign that proved him worthy of the Rookie of the Year Award, Rose is shaking up the playoff picture.

By the end of the regular season, many fans were not sold on this young kid’s game. Sure his 16 ppg and 6 assists looked pretty on paper, but was he ready to lead his seventh seeded Bulls against the defending champion Celtics in round one? Fifty three minutes after the start of his first playoff game, there was no denying his abilities. He tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record for points in a playoff debut with 36. Add eleven assist to that number and you have a point guard who is wise beyond his years. No one could stop Rose as he slashed to the basket with ease. He even helped me win over a few hearts in my “Rondo is Garbage” campaign the way he embarrassed him that Saturday afternoon.

All of his teammates shout his praises. Guard Ben Gordon went as far as to say that he plays like a veteran. I most certainly agree. It’s difficult to believe that a year ago Derrick Rose was playing for a National Championship with the Memphis Tigers. At Memphis things were a lot easier. He was on a college team that was stacked with talent, being defended by guys who may not get picked in a playground game. Now he is in a position where the entire Bulls organization is depending on him to navigate them back to NBA supremacy. The legend of Michael Jordan stares him dead in the eye every time he enters the building. What better player to take the challenge than the Chicago native. The Jordan-esque demands do not phase this budding star. He never shows a bit of nervousness. Rose plays with a sense of confidence that many veterans do not posses as throughout their career. (Eddie House looks like he’s wishing the ball in the basket every time) He plays floor general without making the slightest facial expressions, remaining calm no matter how tight the game is.

Perhaps it is growing up as a Bulls fan that make him so anxious to get the team back to its glory days win Jordan was “pushing off” Byron Russel for Championships. In a Sports Illustrated article he was quoted saying, “I want the pressure on me. I would be more worried if it wasn't there." A statement like that should have guards around the league on their toes. Come clutch time, we all know who is going to have the ball in their hands.

A sign that he is a great point guard in the works is the fact that he keeps every one happy. As a point guard, you have four other guys on the court who feel as though they are open every offensive possession. Last season was a soap opera for the Bulls. Ben Gordon wasn’t sure if he wanted to be back. In reference to a big loss late last season Kirk Heinrich said, “We weren’t really ready to play.” Heck, Joaqim Noah got benched by his own teammates! One season later, Derrick Rose makes this squad look more content than elderly people at a time share. He dishes to Gordon for any open shot he pleases, Heinrich gives %110 every night on the defensive end and Noah has settled down and understands that he is no longer the go to man that he was with the University of Florida.

Currently the Celtics are leading the series 3-2, with a Thursday night game scheduled in the Windy City. The pressure is on Derrick Rose to will his team to victory in the next two games in order to advance to the next round. As I prepare to watch this “back against the wall” scenario unfold, I can’t help but to think about the 1980 NBA Finals in which Magic Johnson lead the Lakers to a championship in his rookie year. Can Derrick Rose have a story book season as thrilling as Magic’s? Upsetting the defending champs in the first round would be a start. Only time will tell if Rose is ready to rise to the occasion.