Thursday Roundup: Derrick Rose an Early Bloomer at Point Guard

Last year the undisputed weakness for the Chicago Bulls was the lack of a low-post threat. So with Michael Beasley available for the taking on Draft Day 2008, I thought it a foregone conclusion the Bulls would take the Kansas State product after landing the number one pick.

I was confused at all the signs pointing towards the Bulls taking Rose. Sure he's a hometown product, but there were several things working against him:

1. He's a point guard, a position that is far and away the most difficult for any rookie trying to make the transition to in the NBA.
2. The Bulls were already stocked with guards. Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Larry Hughes, and Thabo Sefolosha formed a competent foursome for Chicago's backcourt. Why increase the traffic jam?
3. As mentioned earlier, the Bulls needed low-post scoring in the worst way. Beasley, in my mind, would have filled that need in his rookie year better than Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah, or Drew Gooden ever will.

Three months into the season, the biggest idiots appear to be myself and Mike D'Antoni, who could be directing his lethal fastbreak with the equally lethal Rose at the helm, but instead opted to coach the Knicks' mish-mash roster.

Thursday night's game between Chicago and the Cleveland Cavaliers showed the promise Rose brings to a beleaguered Bulls team. Despite shooting 6-20 on his way to 16 points, Rose took care of the ball (six assists to one turnover), and made huge plays down the stretch.

Rose's confidence in making big plays in big moments marks him as a future star. He made two huge three-point plays, one in the fourth quarter, and the other in overtime. Rookie point guards aren't expected to do that.

He made a simple, but beautiful pass to Luol Deng for a game-clinching three. There are veterans who can't/won't do that.

Compared to today's elite point guards, Rose is on par to join their status sooner than later. His stats thus far (16.9 PPG and 6.3 APG) compare favorably with the rookie stats of Chris Paul (16.1 PPG and 7.8 APG), Deron Williams (10.8 PPG and 4.5 APG), Jason Kidd (11.7 PPG and 7.7 APG), late-bloomer Steve Nash (3.3 PPG and 2.1 APG) and Tony Parker (9.2 PPG and 4.3 APG).

So while the Bulls' lack of scoring on the block is still an issue, it's no longer a question of if they made the right pick last June; it's whether they knew Derrick Rose would be this good, this soon.

Other Notes

• Did the crab dribble controversy intimidate LeBron James into shooting a contested jumper at the end of regulation Thursday night? Doubtful. James confessed to being slowed down by a cold on his way to a frigid 8-28 shooting night. The sick superstar also coughed up eight turnovers.
• Will Tyrus Thomas turn into one of those guys whose production never equals his talent? 15 points and seven rebounds are decent enough, until you see he played 37 minutes of game time.
• The Suns are unable to get a crunch-time break. Tie game with five seconds on the clock, Grant Hill crosses up Anthony Carter like its 1996 only to get tripped by Carter while simultaneously getting hit by Nene Hilario. No whistle. Then in overtime, Kenyon Martin pulls a Tim Duncan on Phoenix, nailing the game-clinching three. Nuggets win, 119-113.
• As recently as last summer pundits still ridiculed Denver for taking Nene with the seventh pick over Amare Stoudemire. He made a nice retort Thursday night with 17 points and 14 rebounds, not to mention being relevant down the stretch, while Stoudemire was nowhere to be found.
• The Nets' Bobby Simmons suffered the wrath of a bench-warmed Jerryd Bayless Thursday night. With Steve Blake out injured, Bayless got off the pine and into the scoring column, netting 23 points on 6-9 shooting, a pristine 11-11 free throw shooting, and a nasty cram on Simmons' dome late in the fourth. Portland won 105-99.
• If the coaches care more about team success than individual production, the Nets' Devin Harris may not make the cut for All-Star Weekend. The Nets (19-21) have lost three of their last four and their next three games are against Boston, New Orleans, and San Antonio.