Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls Have Real Reason to Be Concerned
Kris Humphries went for 24 points, 18 rebounds and five assists in the New Jersey Nets' victory over the Chicago Bulls yesterday. I know every dog has his day, and I understand Humphries averaged a double-double last season and is doing so again; however, Humphries looked like a Hall of Famer.
There is no reason why the combination of Carlos Boozer and Taj Gibson should have the same number of rebounds as the former Minnesota Golden Gopher and only outscore him by six.
The Nets' starting five last night was DeShawn Stevenson, MarShon Brooks, Deron Williams, Humphries and "The Landlord", Shelden Williams. This is not a very good lineup to throw out there as your five best.
The Nets have one-and-a-half players on this list that would be considered starting quality elsewhere. Deron Williams is a starter, hands down, and MarShon Brooks will be one day. Right now Brooks is a rookie but playing pretty well; with that being said, he couldn't start for many other NBA teams. The other three in this quintet would be bench players on most other squads in the NBA.
There is no honest-speaking NBA fan or follower that will look you in the eye and say "The Nets should beat the Bulls," regardless of the status of Derrick Rose.
Rose is the best point guard in basketball, for my vote. Rose brings so much to the table. I consider Rose to be a complete basketball player, and I would not consider him to be a scoring guard or an athletic guard, but rather an all-around guard.
He can play in the half-court game or on the fastbreak, and can score, pass, dribble, lock down his man on D and play smart basketball. Rose plays in a way that not only makes everyone on the team better, but he keeps himself involved in the game even when the ball is in someone else's hands.
This is why I believe the Bulls are just not a good team without Rose. Boozer is unwilling to battle on the boards every game. There is a sense of physical play in the NBA, and Boozer at times seems like he wants nothing to do with the contact.
Joakim Noah is great on the glass and is not afraid of the contact and physical nature of play in the NBA. The issue with Noah is he couldn't hit water if he fell off a boat in the middle of the ocean. While the offensive evolution of Noah has been tremendous since his rookie year, Noah is still a garbage points offensive player.
The Bulls should have never let Keith Bogans leave, because the experiment of Rip Hamilton, Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer has not been an upgrade. Hamilton is old, his offensive abilities are slowing down, and he is a defensive liability. Korver is a wide-open set shooter and that is all. Brewer can run and play some defense and that is it.
Luol Deng is growing on me. I consider him to be a little overrated, but his defensive aptitude and talent are among the best in the game.
The Bulls need to learn how to play without Rose before they can even be considered the best team in the Eastern Conference because until that day comes, they will not get beyond the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics in the playoffs, as has been the case in recent history.
