NBA Playoffs 2011: Why There's More at Stake for Derrick Rose, LeBron James
As the eyes of the sports world turn their attention to Chicago for Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals Sunday evening, it’s likely few will realize or even care to think about what could be at stake.
As pro athletes go, Derrick Rose is the furthest possible thing from both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. It’s these differences that will come to the forefront after the hoopla of the 2011 NBA Playoffs gives way to America’s pastime.
Rose represents everything that is good about the game; everything the stars of tomorrow should aim to be and should try to emulate. He has an ego and can be selfish at times (as only someone who proclaims himself the MVP in training camp and as someone who has taken the most shots in these playoffs to date can), but beneath it all, all he wants to do is win.
He doesn’t watch SportsCenter or read the headlines, and often seems to be completely disillusioned with what is going on outside the Berto-Center walls. Anyone who suggests the Bulls enter the conference finals in an "us against the world" situation versus the universally-despised Miami Heatles, as Rose did Saturday afternoon, clearly doesn’t have any of ESPN’s gimmick-laden 30-minute shows on his TiVo.
In contrast, LeBron and Wade represent everything that is wrong with what the post-Jordan era of basketball has become.
It’s not even worth going into the events of last summer and how backwards they were. A recent example would be their celebration after beating an old, injured Celtics team in the second round. If anyone unfamiliar with basketball was watching the ensuing moments after that series, they would have thought the Heat had just won their 12th championship in a row.
In contrast, after Rose and the Bulls beat Atlanta to advance to the conference final—somewhere only one out of the five Bulls' starters had ever been—they shook hands, smiled and congratulated Atlanta on a great series. Class.
While we’re all trying to figure out what Rose is thinking, why he’s so quiet, how he stays so humble and how he managed to predict/become the youngest MVP in basketball history, he’s in the gym getting better and staying focused on the task at hand.
As James and Wade take in all the publicity from South Beach, they think about how awesome they are.
"How can we make the championship celebration any better than the parade we threw before we even played a game together? How else can we find ways to speak in the third person? What other obnoxious, belittling commercials can we come up with?”
As Rose continues his third NBA season and James/Wade each finish their eighth, it’s clear they represent different takes on what a superstar should be. As Rose continues to surpass expectations at a very young age, James and Wade continue to do less with their God-given talents than many had hoped.
Winning is all that matters in this league, and whoever gets the best of this rivalry will set the mold for the NBA superstars of tomorrow.
