Derrick Rose: If You've Seen This Face, That Means It's Too Late

No photograph has been able to capture it.

A scowl. The lip curl. A gangster stare.

Call it what you will, but it is a look of utter disdain for any opponent, who actually has a tiny belief or even an inkling he has any sort of ability to get in Derrick Rose's way.

Like an angry pit bull that growls, but does not bark. Like a rugged Chicago street, it cracks, but does not break. Like an assassin, it does not make a sound and by the time you see it, it's too late.

The scowl simply asks, "Did you really think you could beat me?" without saying a word.

He doesn't scream. He doesn't get in your face. He doesn't make a sound.

He simply cracks his lip, shows his teeth, and adds an additional glare.

The Boston Celtics have seen it. The Miami Heat have seen it. The Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs may not be familiar with it, but could very soon be within feet of it.

See for yourself. No picture has been able to grasp the Rose stare, so let's go to the video.

The Detroit Pistons and the Houston Rockets have seen it. Seventeen seconds in and 41 seconds in, you will see it too.

Let's ask Goran Dragic if he has nightmares of it. From 20 seconds to 28 seconds, there's that look. As if he's trying to find someone who can understand his frustration with players who think they can stop him.

But no one understands. No one understands what it's like to be seemingly indestructible, so people keep on trying and people keep on falling.

If NBA players receive a milk carton with, "Have you seen this face?" and it's of the Rose stare, saying, "Yes," will not mean Rose has been found, but rather they themselves have gone missing from the NBA playoffs.

We all deserve the stare as well.

We chuckled when he asked us why he couldn't be MVP. Our reasons were: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, and others. That's why, Derrick. That is why you can't be MVP.

We hadn't a clue he had learned how to shoot a jumper or hit from beyond the arc.

How were we supposed to know in just his third season he'd be able to get to the rim at will, to either direct a floater as if he had a remote control, go under the rim for a reverse layup, take contact and place the ball off the backboard, or simply break the rim?

We couldn't have known.

But he knew. And now he is one Bulls win or a Celtics loss away from staring down at every team in the Eastern Conference, with a good chance he'll be hoisting the MVP trophy because of it.

And for that, we all deserve a stare.

NBA playoff contenders, fear the Rose stare. It could be the last thing you see before your season comes to an end.