Derrick Rose and LeBron James: Could LeBron Help Derrick Win the MVP?
Since the Chicago Bulls beat the Miami Heat (something which is becoming a trend) the talk about Derrick Rose being the MVP has taken a decisive swing.
What was once a dead even race is becoming a runaway—now Derrick seems to be ready to lap the field as LeBron is fading in the final stretch.
The irony of it all is that so many of the reasons that Derrick is embraced as the front runner are that he is the very antithesis of the things that caused LeBron to fall into such popular disfavor this last summer. In fact, when you start reviewing the case made for Derrick, it seems in almost ever way he's the opposite of LeBron.
For LeBron, it was the summer of "The Decision" which whether you were bothered by it or not, certainly caused heavy criticism. LeBron was chastised as narcissistic across the media. The "need" for a one hour show to announce his decision was seen as a indulgent need to lap up even more attention than he was already getting.
Derrik texted LeBron to tell him that he wanted to dispel the rumors that he didn't want LeBron to come play in Chicago. He told LeBron: "I'm just hitting you up to kill all the rumors that I don't want to play with you. I'd like to play with you. I just want to win."
That attitude is why Derrick is getting the MVP talk: He just wants to win and he wants to do what it takes.
LeBron wants to have won, and that's a big difference.
On Derrick's side, it's almost impossible to read an article about him without the word "humility" being brought up. In fact, if you type "Derrick Rose hu" in Google, the auto-complete will offer "humble" as one of the frequently searched options (and no, it doesn't work if you do LeBron).
Derrick lives in a townhouse with three friends. He drives a pickup truck. He doesn't go out when the team is on the road, but stays in his hotel room and orders movies. He stops fans to thank them for wearing his jersey and coming to the Bulls games.
His new teammates confess they thought the whole "humble" thing was just an act until they came to the team and realized it really is the way Rose is.
He's come out of his shell this year, which he needed to do to lead the team. It's ironic that probably the most boastful thing he's said is: "Why can't I be MVP?"
While LeBron was counting his "not six, not seven but eight" championships, Rose was almost trying to convince himself he had the ability to be MVP.
Where LeBron is looked at as taking the easy way out, signing with the other two Heatles, Rose spent the summer getting better. While the burning image from the summer of LeBron is the smoke machine celebration filled with empty promises, the image of Derrick Rose doesn't exist on any film, but only in our imagination because what he was doing wasn't getting celebrated.
While LeBron spent the summer deflecting the work it takes to get better, Rose spent the summer putting in the work of literally being deflected. The part of the summer where he wasn't winning FIBA gold, he spent practicing his three point shot, to the tune of a thousand shots a day. He spent the summer with Rob McClanaghan getting bashed around with a football pad so he could learn to take contact in the lane.
It's the difference between wanting—and we all know with the Heat it's not a matter of wanting—but of putting in the work to get what is wanted.
When it comes to coaching, there is another stark contrast between the two. While LeBron and his teammates famously "want to chill," Derrick Rose talks about his team's "shootarounds being harder than most teams practices" with pride.
LeBron literally bumps shoulders with his coach while Rose embraces his.
Perhaps the thing that all the stat geeks are missing when it comes to the Most Valuable Player conversation is that there's more to the value of a player than his actual play.
Certainly, if you're looking at the rebounds, scoring efficiency and the like it's easy to make the case that LeBron is a better player than Rose.
However, when you look at the other aspects of value—the things that a player brings in the way of leadership, of work ethic, of receiving coaching—there are a host of things that add to Rose's value.
Derrick Rose doesn't just make his team better when he's on the court and the game clock is running. He makes his team better in the practices and in the offseason.
In the wake of "The Decision," there's a place for a new kind of star who isn't bucking for a coach who does what he's told, a star who isn't full of himself, a star who embraces his home town and one who is willing to work for what he achieves.
Without the contrast of LeBron, it might be easy for a player like Rose to be overshadowed.
In a strange sort of way though, LeBron is helping Derrick to get the recognition he might not otherwise get by showing us how much value Rose really has.
