The best part about basketball being back especially if you’re a Chicago Bulls is that Derrick Rose is back in action. After he missed a year of playing professional basketball because of a torn ACL he is back in uniform and on the court for the Bulls. He wasn’t just an illusion that was there for a few seasons, won the MVP award led the Bulls to a top seed, and then disappeared from existence.
Derrick Rose played his first official regular season game against the defending champion Miami Heat. After being hyped up as the most epic return a Chicago Bull has made since “you know who” came back from his baseball sabbatical in the mid 1990s, Rose didn’t play all that well. He managed 12 points and four assists in his debut and it made me realize something.
I am a huge basketball fan and an even bigger Bull’s fan but I came to the conclusion that the Chicago Bulls will not win an NBA title this season. It is so agonizing to say that and I would rather watch all five Twilight movies with special commentary from Kristen Stewart on a Saturday night than repeat that but it is the harsh truth.
I have loved the Bulls since I ran around the living room with my dad at three years old celebrating their third championship after John Paxton’s three-pointer sealed the deal. These unfortunately are not those Chicago Bulls yet because Derrick Rose still does not have the help he needs and still has to learn more about the game. He is also not Michael Jordan and that’s not an insult because I am convinced that Michael Jordan is not human.
I would never take anything away from D Rose because he is sensational on the court. He is lighting quick with the ball in his hands, one the strongest point guards in league history, a good leader, takes the big shot, and is pretty good at making the big shot. The high arching floater he hit over two New York Knicks on Halloween to win the game is just a reminder of his individual greatness.
Everybody needs to look at the rest of the Chicago Bulls though. Every superstar player has a cast of role players that fulfills their part and in some cases maybe there is even another superstar like that once famous duo of Shaq and Kobe or that now famous, yet disdained duo of Dwayne Wade and Lebron James. The Bulls have a superstar and a cast of players that are really good and work well together but none of them are superstars.
Joakim Noah is a top five center in the league that plays harder than anyone but he is not going to give you twenty plus points a night in the post. Carlos Boozer, the Bull’s offseason purchase from a couple years ago, sometimes turns into Carlos “Snoozer” on defense and offense. Luol Deng is an incredible player that always possesses all star potential but it he does not bring consistent enough offense that will turn him to a truly elite player. Hinrich, Butler, Gibson are great pieces that the Bulls are fortunate to have but their not superstars.
The biggest issue is that the Miami Heat have Lebron James and the Bulls have to find a way to get pass that. Dwayne Wade is approximately 70% of what he used to be on a game-to-game basis meaning that sometimes he is D Wade and sometimes he just needs Bengay. He is still fully capable of being D wade though just ask the San Antonio Spurs.
Everyone just needs to relax and be patient, and not expect Derrick Rose to be Superman right off the bat. He is only 25 years old still learning about the game and he will continue to grow as a player and that should make Bull’s fans everywhere estatic for years to come. Remember how many rings Lebron James and Michael Jordan had when they were 25 years old.
The Bull have a 3-3 record at this point in the season and will probably finish with 50 plus wins and one the best records in the league but that’s the regular season. Pacers will be waiting in the playoffs with size and the Heat will be waiting with speed, star power, and experience. Its too much to ask of them this season.
Derrick Rose and the Bulls will win an NBA title they just won’t win one this season. I do hope that this is one proclamation I am completely wrong about because no one wants to see Miami raising another championship banner. Rose is still the Windy City angel with an assassin’s mentality on the court that will guide Chicago to a title just not this year.
Damone Griffin
Sports Editor