Derrick Rose Continues To Choke
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Miami Heat Own Chicago Bulls: Don't Let Records Fool You
If someone who knew nothing about the NBA grabbed the sports edition of a newspaper to look at the current standings in the eastern conference, what they would probably think is that the Chicago Bulls are the best team in basketball. They would believe by looking at the overall record of the Bulls that they would be the favorites to compete for the championship.
Nothing could be further from the truth, and the reason is because the Miami Heat own the Chicago Bulls when it counts.
After winning game one of the eastern conference finals last year by 20 something points, the Bulls appeared on the fast track to championship glory. That was when LeBron James took it to the next level, leading the Heat to steal home court advantage, and eventually four straight wins to take the series 4-1. Ouch. The Heat owned that series after the first game, winning two of the contests in Chicago. While James shinned, Derrick Rose failed.
It All Rests On Rose
Derrick Rose, the all-star guard and current league MVP, is considered by many insiders to be an explosive franchise-changing player. Rose is an amazing talent, but it is clear that he is still years away from showing championship grit. That is because Rose has raw talent, but lacks the clutch ability needed by a team leader at this stage in his professional development as a basketball player.
In college, he was one free throw away from giving Memphis its first ever NCAA championship, and what happened? He choked. His 7-17 shooting night combined with that epic choke at the free-throw line led to a miracle three pointer by Kansas star, and now Miami Heat player, Mario Chalmers nailing down a game-tying three pointer. In overtime of that game, Rose struggled (not scoring a single point in overtime, and going 0-2 from three point land in extra time) and Memphis lost.
Last year in the eastern finals, when it came time for Rose to deliver once again on the big stage he failed. He began missing shots and turning the ball over like the heavy-set guy playing pick-up basketball to lose weight. And when Rose had a chance to redeem himself in the fourth quarter of a close game against the Heat in Miami only a week ago, he went 1-5 from the floor, missing two critical free throws. One would have tied the game, two would have put the Bulls up. The Bulls would lose that game.
"Rose is an amazing player, but when the competition is tough and he is expected to come through, he has a solid track record of coming up short", explained a sports write for a GPS fleet tracking solutions company called GPS Tracker Shop. "Not to say the choker is embedded in his genetics, but he is going to have to go out there and prove he is the man if he wants to be considered an elite player of historical proportions because right now he is only the guy who can't get it done."
Regardless if the Bulls are the top seed in the east and the Heat barely make it in the big dance with a spot as the eight seed, the Heat would be the favorite. That is because every team would choose James over Rose given the option, and maybe Dwayne Wade over Rose. Probably even Chris Bosh as well. However, Rose still has a lot of career to prove everyone wrong, and hopefully he won't leave the NBA like he left the NCAA, a choke artist specializing in the Heimlich maneuver.