(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
But even Thomas’ performance was no match for their guard’s tremendous debut playoff performance, which leads me to the acquisition of Derrick Rose.
When Chicagoan, Derrick Rose was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, many people felt the Bulls had doomed themselves by not acquiring the potential big man of the future they needed in Michael Beasley.
Sure, Rose was tremendous for Memphis in their 2008 run to the NCAA national championship, but he had an array of talent surrounding him that was almost unmatched in college. So, how would or could he transition into the NBA?
That’s logical.
Well, Rose transitioned into the NBA’s rookie of the year, beating out Brook Lopez and, yes, Michael Beasley.
Along with Thomas, Rose can come up big too and did on Saturday. Scoring 36 points in his playoff debut, Rose tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record for most points by a rookie in their first playoff game. Not bad.
Yet Rose has been carrying the Bulls all year long. Averaging 16.8 points and 6.3 assists, Rose’s work is even more impressive when you factor in the carousel of forwards and centers that Rose has had to deal with this year. Still, he has found a way to gel with two in particular: Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah.
Now, Paxson hasn’t done everything right. That is for sure. But, right now, his best decisions are outweighing his worst ones.
Heck, the Bulls, as hot as they are, may not even win the series. It’s definitely going to be tough. But they have taken the first step in, not only taking away Boston’s home-court advantage, but also giving Paxson (and the Bulls fans) something to smile about.
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