In the second episode of the “Eyes From The Nineties” podcast I talk about LeBron James’ dominance over my Chicago Bulls for the last few years and how it compares to Jordan’s dominance in the 1990s, that discussion led me to listing my top 10 NBA players of all-time. I also briefly talk about Da, listvid Letterman’s retirement and the series finale of “Mad Men.”
Enjoy!
The return after the return after “The Return” is tonight! Bulls fans everywhere rejoice!
I know I am doing some rejoicing. Since Tom Thibodeau has been head coach the Bulls have been in the “contender” conversation. In Thibs’ first season (2010-11), Derrick Rose won MVP, the Bulls had the best record in the entire NBA, and they made all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Despite losing four games to one against the — at the time — new super team, Miami Heat, there was a sense of hope in the air of the Windy City that this Bulls team could be poised to do something special in the near future.
The following season (2011-12), Derrick Rose battled several nagging injuries leading up to the fatal blow of him tearing his ACL in his left knee during the first game of the playoffs against the miserable Philadelphia 76ers. Later in that series Joakim Noah got injured and the Bulls (with the best record in the Eastern Conference) lost to the 76ers (with the worst record among all playoff teams that season).
Derrick Rose went on to sit out for the entire next season (2012-13) despite all of the hype by his sponsor, Adidas, and the public relations disaster made by him, his camp, and the Bulls organization by teasing the fans and the media with a possible return in the 2012-13 season. They all even teased fans with a possible Derrick Rose return in the playoffs — which never happened.
But no need for a Rose return in those 2012-13 playoffs, the Bulls beat the Nets in the first round in a thrilling 7 game series led by Nate Robinson and Joakim Noah. Even though they lost to the Heat again four games to one, there was some rejoice around this Bulls team again for when Rose does eventually return.
All of that rejoice was long gone after just over 10 games in the 2013-14 season, Derrick Rose tore his meniscus in his right knee. The Bulls immediately said Rose was done for the season to prevent anymore public relation mishaps.
All rejoice has since been stripped from Bulls fans, they are left skeptical and bitter. They (we) will always root for Derrick Rose but trusting him to stay healthy would be delusional. But this team the Bulls have put around him (Pau Gasol, an improved Jimmy Butler, and Nikola Mirotic) sparked a little hope back into the hearts of Bulls fans. And soon as the hope began to really grow, Derrick Rose re-injured his right knee with another meniscus tear. This time the doctor removed the meniscus rather than repairing, meaning a speedier recovery time of 4-6 weeks instead of several months.
All signs point to tonight being the night of Derrick Rose’s return. Tom Thibodeau, Bulls players and members of the Bulls organization seem optimistic. The Bulls probably have the best chance out of any Eastern Conference team of beating LeBron James’ new superteam — his home-state’s Cleveland Cavaliers. And while this supporting cast around Derrick Rose is better than any he has player with probably in his life, this team needs him most of all to dethrone the king.
Speaking as a Bulls fan: I am skeptical but still hopeful for the Bulls’ seventh championship banner to be raised in the United Center at the beginning of next season.
Let’s finally put to bed all of these debates and conversations about whether or not LeBron James is an all-time great. He is there, he is one of “them”. Who is “them”? Jordan, Magic, Kareem, Bird, Kobe; those “them”. The elites. LeBron is an all-time great, a legend, an icon. Last season he reached the peak of his prime and he should have about 2 or 3 more years at the peak of his prime. So, we should just book him for at least 2 more fittings with a jeweler for at least 2 more NBA Championship rings.
It pains me to have to be the one to bring the rest of the world to this realization since I am a die hard Bulls fan and not only do I hope my Bulls dethrone LeBron and the Miami Heat but I do not like the idea of LeBron (or anyone for that matter) being in the discussion of being “the greatest of all-time” with Michael Jeffrey Jordan. But LeBron is. LeBron is very much so in that discussion, he is 29 years old with 2 rings, 4 MVPs, and he’s the biggest freak of nature in American sports since Jackie Robinson.
It is silly to compare Michael Jordan and LeBron James, they play different positions, they have different styles, and they are from two completely different eras. The league was more physical in Michael Jordan’s era because he faced some of the greatest centers of all-time. LeBron’s era is faster, some of the greatest point guards of all-time are in this era.. LeBron didn’t have to worry about being met at rim by Patrick Ewing or Hakeem Olajuwon and Jordan didn’t have to worry about keeping up with Derrick Rose or Russell Westbrook. LeBron’s legacy is still being written, so let’s not compare his legacy to Michael Jordan’s until the ink dries.
LeBron has come a long way and has battled through a lot of adversity in the past 3 years. He went from being somewhat immature and nonchalant to being dominant and determined. He left Cleveland to go to Miami and everyone thought he had given up pursuing all-time greatness and had gone to Miami to defer to Dwyane Wade. The first year, that is exactly what he did. He deferred to Dwyane Wade despite still having a MVP-caliber season statistically. After failing in the NBA Finals for the 2nd time in his career a switch flipped, and now 2 years and 2 championships later, here we are. It is the eve of the 2013-14 NBA season opener and the Miami Heat will receive their championship rings in front of their rival Chicago Bulls. But this season feels different. For the first time in LeBron’s career, this is his league without question.
LeBron has reached his comfort zone, he is liked by the masses once again, he’s a winner, and he “ain’t got no worries”.
I love my Chicago Bulls and it is hard not to admire the heart they have played with this post-season with injuries to so many of their keys players. Going into the playoffs we all were aware that Joakim Noah would not be 100% with his plantar fasciitis but he showed his heart and helped lead the Bulls past the Brooklyn Nets after a long 7-game series. By the end of that 7-game series with the Nets, Joakim seemed to be closer to being 100% but the Bulls lost Kirk Hinrich to a calf injury and Luol Deng to a bad reaction to a spinal tap (plus Derrick Rose has missed an entire year).
In the 4 game series against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Miami Heat were seemingly toying with the Bucks. I say this because if you watched those games, you would notice that in the first half the Bucks seemed to be legitimate competition to the Heat but in the second half the Heat would pull away and just embarrass the Bucks. The Heat have a bad habit of playing down to the competition but with the talent on their team they are usually capable overcoming their misjudgments.
In game 1 of the Bulls/Heat series the Bulls were the better team, they came out with more heart and focus than the Heat and the Bulls were the aggressors throughout that entire game. Looking back it is easy to say that the Heat underestimated the Bulls but these teams are far too familiar with each other for me to believe that. I think the Bulls were running off of adrenaline from an emotional game 7 win over the Brooklyn Nets after facing so much adversity and they just plainly outplayed the Heat.
Game 2 was the difference maker in this series, the Heat led by as much as 46 points. The Bulls lost composure in game 2 with Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson both being ejected for shouting at the referees. The Heat stayed focused and the talent on the Heat stabbed the Bulls in the heart. In game 3 Joakim Noah lost his composure again by shoving Chris Andersen and Nazr Mohammed lost his composure by getting ejected for pushing LeBron James to the floor. Game 3 was a close game throughout despite Noah’s and Mohammed’s blow-ups. The Bulls stayed focused but the Heat shut down Nate Robinson and the Heat’s bench players (especially Norris Cole) stepped up in a big way.
The Bulls are tired, they are playing basically with a 7 man rotation and 3 of their best players have yet to play a minute in the series. Game 4 the Bulls looked exhausted and the Heat looked championship-bound. I am expecting the Bulls to come out with energy and heart and putting up a hell of a fight but–as much as it hurts me to say–it won’t be enough. The Heat will win game 5 and move on to the Eastern Conference Finals and end the Bulls’ season.
These two teams have had several battles since the emergence of the Miami Heat’s super-team with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. The Miami Heat’s style of play is to spread the floor with shooters to allow LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to penetrate the defense and either take a high percentage shot or pass the ball to an open shooter. Dwyane Wade and LeBron James are two of the most explosive players in NBA history from baseline-to-baseline. Their ability to get to the basket and shoot the mid-range jumper has solidified their places in sports history and when they joined forces it was thought that there would be no competition for them.
During the summer of 2010 while the Miami Heat constructed their super-team, Derrick Rose proclaimed that he wanted to be the MVP of the NBA and the Chicago Bulls hired a veteran defensive-minded assistant coach–Tom Thibodeau–as their head coach. The previous year the Bulls were 41-41 but now being led by their rising star and new head coach the Bulls ended the season with the best record in the NBA at 62-20 and they were ranked as the top defensive team in the NBA. The new defensive identity of the Chicago Bulls along with the explosive style of play of Derrick Rose made them one of the elite teams in the NBA.
During the 2010-2011 regular season the Bulls and Heat met 3 times and the Bulls won all three, so a Bulls versus Heat playoff series was in high demand. The hatred for the Heat was at such a high volume that season and the Bulls seemed to be the Heat’s only true competition in the Eastern Conference. The demand for a Bulls versus Heat playoff series came fruition as the two beasts of the East were set to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Bulls started the series off with a game 1 victory but the Miami made adjustments and won the last 4 consecutive games of that series and were looking like a championship-caliber team.
The Heat fell to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals in 6 games.
The following season the Bulls and Heat seemed to have grown a dislike for one another but still had a mutual respect for each other on a competitive level. Throughout the 2011-2012 season the Bulls and Heat had 4 physical battles of which each team won 2 and it only seem natural that they would meet for another Eastern Conference Finals battle. But the rematch never took place due to the Bulls being eliminated in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals by the Philadelphia 76ers after losing Derrick Rose to a torn ACL and Joakim Noah to a high ankle sprain.
This season the Bulls and Heat have taken to completely different paths to get to the playoffs. The Bulls have struggled throughout the season with Derrick Rose missing the entire season with his ACL injury and several other Bulls players that battled with multiple injuries. With all of the injuries and the absence of their star player, the Bulls still fought for the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference and they fought even harder to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. While the Bulls struggled, the Miami Heat were cruising. The Heat dominated all season, they even going on a 27-game winning streak at one point and went 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Despite how they got here, they are here for what I hope will be an instant classic of a playoff series. This Bulls team may be limited with players but they have more than enough heart and fight in them. The Heat are the clear favorites–and the deserve to be–but they have played the Bulls enough to know they must bring their best effort in order to withstand the Bulls’ physical play.
I am a huge Chicago Bulls fan and a huge Derrick Rose fan. He is the best player on any Chicago sports team since Michael Jordan. As a person he is a great representative of the city of Chicago. But with all of that said it as almost been a year since he tore his ACL and he has still yet to return. There is no doubt in my mind that if this were Dwight Howard or LeBron James that have been cleared to play basketball for over 2 months and has been “dominating at practice” they would be ridiculed by the masses. But since this is the innocent and humble Derrick Rose he gets a break? That’s egregious!
Derrick Rose is 24 years old, it should not take him 2 months after being cleared to play to actually come back and play. If he was not cleared to play then I would have no problem with him sitting out this season but his doctor said he is cleared to play and that playing in-game is the final step in his recovery.
The doctors have said Derrick’s ACL is fully healed and the probability of an ACL tear is the same of any other player in the NBA. So, if that is the case what will 4-6 more months of rest in the off-season do but add more rust to his game? Derrick has said he wants to be back at MVP form, but he will not reach that form if he does not play.
I refuse to accept any argument that there is not enough “pieces” on this Chicago Bulls roster around Derrick to when a championship. I do not care if the Bulls only won 10 games out of 70, it is a team and you are on it and capable to play–so you should play! But the Bulls are a 6th seed in the Eastern Conference and with Derrick Rose in the lineup they would probably be the 2nd best team in the Eastern Conference. If an exhausted veteran like Kobe Bryant can sacrifice his body just for his team to be an 8th seed, then Derrick Rose can play on a team that was capable of being a 6th seed without him.
Joakim Noah has been consistent throughout his college and professional basketball career, but instead of getting respect he has been
ridiculed. He is outspoken, energetic, and often bizarre but all of those characteristics are what make his style of play so unique. Joakim is often tagged as just an “energy guy” and though there is no doubt that he is energetic, that is almost an insult to his game. Ever since he was drafted by the Bulls he has been the vocal leader of this team. Whenever the Bulls are losing, they have their heads down and are ready to give up, Joakim boosts the teams morale with a hustle play. He plays with his heart and when his teammates see him give it his all they fall in line and do the same.
The Chicago Bulls’ calling card is their defense and their grind-it-out style of play, this is due to the coaching of Tom Thibodeau. I think Thibodeau came to this team as a defensive minded coach and wanted this team to be constructed in the likeness of Joakim Noah, hardworking and not always pretty.
This is my favorite all-time Joakim Noah moment in probably the best 1st round playoff series in NBA history:
Joakim Noah came from the University of Florida, and led the Gators to back-to-back Final Four championships but many Chicagoans were displeased with the Bulls drafting him. The expectations for Joakim were very low. Now, here he is after 6 years in Chicago and he is probably one of Chicago’s favorite athletes and is considered a irreplaceable asset to many Bulls fans. I have to agree with them. Although Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum might better, more dominant players, they can be self-absorbed divas. Joakim is about team, he always gives 100% effort and he plays with his heart. Joakim is also much more versatile than any other center in the NBA, he is the best passing big man I’ve ever seen, Thibodeau often uses Joakim to set the offense, which makes the Bulls’ high pick-and-roll so deadly. I’ll take heart and effort over God-given talent any day because if you have the God-given talent but don’t give the effort you are still useless.
Last night Joakim put on a legendary performance against the short-handed, struggling Philadelphia 76ers. Joakim scored 23 points, grabbed 21 rebounds, and hosted a block party with 11 blocks. He is the first player in the history of the NBA to have 20+ points, 20+ rebounds, 10+ blocks, and shoot 65% from the field. The first Bull since Artis Gilmore to record a triple-double with points, rebounds, and blocks. This was Joakim’s 3rd triple double of his career.
Derrick Rose is without a doubt the best player on the Bulls but Joakim is the heart of the team because no one plays with as much heart as he does.
Joakim Noah is easily having the best season of his career. With Derrick Rose being out, he surely stepped his game up which led to him being a first time All-Star. Now, he is on pace to be named Defensive Player Of the Year. Joakim is top 5 in the NBA for blocks and rebounds plus he’s averaging 1.3 steals per game, as a center. Joakim is the best defender on one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, which should say something because last year Tyson Chandler won the award basically for being the only defender on his team.
Last week Derrick Rose said “I can’t dunk, man. I know if I can dunk off stride, I know I’ll be out there playing, but I can’t.”
Well…
I have been battling with this question for awhile now. The Bulls have shown that they have the ability to be contenders but they have also shown that they are still flawed. The lack of a secondary scorer is big. Derrick Rose is great when healthy, but we saw in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals that LeBron James’ defense is Derrick’s kryptonite. The Bulls were phenomenal in the first game of that series but for the next four games LeBron would guard Derrick in the 4th quarter, which made it difficult for him to set up the offense, and that was especially detrimental for a team where no one but Derrick can find their own shot.
Luol Deng, Rip Hamilton, Jimmy Butler, and Carlos Boozer are capable secondary scorers but they cannot find their own shot. Marco Belinelli, Kirk Hinrich, and Nate Robinson can find their own shot as ball handlers but they each have their downfalls. Nate can be out of control and often makes bad decisions. Marco can be inconsistent on offense and can also be a liability on defense. Kirk Hinrich is good at setting up the offense, he’s a good defender, his shooting is inconsistent, and when Derrick gets back I expect Thibodeau to play Kirk at the 2 some.
All-in-all the Bulls have improved a great deal since 2011 but I just don’t see enough for them to get past Miami, even with a healthy Derrick. The 2-guards that they have now are far better than Keith Bogans and Ronnie Brewer, and as good as Kyle Korver was from the perimeter he wasn’t always dependable. So, by that logic the Bulls could beat the Miami Heat and make it to the Finals. But what most Bulls fans forget is that the Heat have improved also. I mean they are the reigning champs. LeBron James is playing all-time great basketball, Dwyane Wade is still very dangerous, and they have a litter of perimeter shooters that spread the floor for Wade and James to work the interior.
I think as constructed along with a healthy Derrick Rose, that the Bulls will make to the Eastern Conference Finals but lose in 6 games to the Miami Heat. This is no knock on the Bulls, I think they can make a move in the off-season for maybe Kevin Love or Josh Smith and then next season they can have a stronger roster and a more healthy, more comfortable Derrick Rose. I just don’t see anyone beating the Miami Heat this year.
The last few weeks have been a roller coaster for Chicago Bulls fans. Word got out that Derrick Rose was taking “full contact” in practice and that tidbit of news caused speculation that Derrick Rose could return as soon as the end of February. Well, now it is February 21st and with just 7 days left in the month it is doubtful that Derrick Rose will be playing this month. On top of that Derrick Rose spoke to the media for the first time since his injury and he said that he wouldn’t mind missing this entire season because he doesn’t want to return until he’s 110% and he’s only currently in the high 80 percentile. After he made that statement every Chicago Bulls fan’s heart dropped (including mine). But the thing about a roller coaster is that when there is a down, an up soon follows. So, after Derrick Rose’s statement, we get news that he participated in his first 5-on-5 and looked “great”. And the speculation of a near return reappears.
Now, today Reggie Rose; Derrick’s manager and older brother, said that Derrick’s return can be affected by the fact that the Bulls as an organization have yet to make any personnel changes to better the team’s chances of contending for a championship.
As a Bulls fan and a Derrick Rose fan, this is highly disappointing because there are only a few true championship contenders in the NBA. So, by Reggie Rose’s logic every other team shouldn’t bother competing and there star players should just sit out. So, since Derrick Rose is the star of the team he should just sit out every regular season and let every other Bull should give it their all for 82 games just for Derrick to swoop in just in time for the post-season? No. Joakim Noah and Luol Deng have sacrificed their bodies these last 2 seasons to try to cover up for what the team is missing without Derrick Rose. But they cannot. Luol postponed surgery for 2 seasons with a torn ligament in his wrist for the sake of this team and their potential. Joakim Noah is playing with plantar fasciitis because he knows this team in 9 games over .500 without Rose and when Rose returns this team is set up for a quality playoff run. But maybe Derrick doesn’t feel that way.
I remember instances when the likes of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Dwight Howard others were free agents but Derrick Rose said he didn’t want to recruit other star players and that the Bulls were good enough as constructed. So, now if what Reggie Rose is saying reflects how Derrick Rose feels, then that would make Derrick a hypocrite. As a fan of his, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and just continue to root for the Bulls as I patiently await his return.
I was only old enough to recall Michael Jordan’s second 3-peat but as a sports enthusiast I have studied all of his stats, watched all of the tape on Michael Jordan that I could get my hands on, and on top of all of that I saw him in those last 3 years in Chicago and to this today nothing compares to those 3 years. That last 3-peat were the best 3 years of sports I have ever witnessed. Dominance, that is what Michael Jordan led those Bulls teams to, dominance, the sports world hadn’t seen a dominance like Jordan’s Bulls since John Wooden won 11 championships in 12 years with UCLA.
I love Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, these are to gifted athletes, top 10 all-time NBA players in my opinion, but Michael Jordan is MICHAEL JORDAN! Magic Johnson and Larry Bird took the NBA off of tape delay and made the game more exciting, but Michael Jordan made the NBA what it is today. Michael Jordan was the perfect basketball player, there was nothing he could not do. At 6’6, 220 pounds, he was able to post up bigs, crossover smaller guards, and dunk on/shoot over anyone; not to mention that he was phenomenal on defense.
Now, I have always been a Kobe Bryant fan because he approaches the game much like Michael, he is an assassin, he has an all-time great hunger to win. Kobe Bryant has evolved his offensive game in a way no one (including Michael Jordan) has ever done. Kobe has always been a decent jump shooter but in his early years he was an erratic player, he made more explosive plays. Now, Kobe is more conservative, he has suffered more injuries that Michael ever had. Kobe has become a back-to-the-basket player, his go-to move is the turn around jumper or his signature fade away jumper but Kobe is still always a risk to penetrate to the hole and make an explosive play.
Kobe has won 5 championships, 2 Finals MVPs, won NBA MVP. Kobe is a guaranteed first ballot Hall Of Famer, and he is one of the top 5 NBA players ever in my opinion but he’s not Jordan. He admits that he idolized Jordan growing up and he has developed into a near mirror-image of Michael Jordan. Like Mike, Kobe has a killer instinct and he’s a born leader but what will always be a blemish in the argument of Kobe being better than Jordan is Kobe’s first 3 championships. Michael Jordan has had 6 NBA Finals appearances, 6 NBA Championships, and 6 NBA Finals MVPs. From Kobe’s 7 Finals appearances he has lost 2, and Shaquille O’Neal was the MVP of Kobe’s first 3 championships.
I have witnessed (no pun intended) LeBron James’ entire career, from him being overly ridiculed by the media to him choking in the Finals to him dominating the NBA in a way no one has done since Jordan. LeBron is a physical freak of nature, he is built like Karl Malone, he runs like Derrick Rose, he jumps like Michael Jordan, and he has the vision of Magic Johnson. With all of that LeBron has an advantage over every NBA player ever! LeBron from the age of 18 has been compared to Jordan but with all of those intangibles he is not as good as Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant to me. I look at Kobe and Michael and I see students of the game, I see there killer instinct, I see there strive for perfection. Sometimes the NBA just seems too easy for LeBron. I look at LeBron and he should be the greatest ever. As great as LeBron is I much too often get this feeling that he doesn’t give his best effort every game. Kobe plays with the chip on his shoulder for being the 16th draft pick, Michael has the chip on his shoulder from being cut from the basketball team in high school. LeBron needs a chip on his shoulder.
I am sure that after this post I will get the “LeBron hater” responses, but that is far from the case, I look at LeBron being 28 with a championship and 3 (going on 4) MVPs under his belt, he is in line with the path Michael took.With that said, LeBron needs to find that killer instinct, I am starting to see it after this current stretch he’s going through where he has scored 30 points in the last 6 games and averaging 60% from the field. I would be surprised to see LeBron not win the MVP and another championship this year. It just feels like this is LeBron’s time, LeBron has a chance to do what Jordan did in the 90s. Carmelo can be Ewing, Kevin Durant can be Malone (making Westbrook Stockton essentially), and Derrick Rose is Barkley because LeBron might just prevent them all from ever winning a championship.
Another thing people often forget about Michael Jordan is that the teams that he had weren’t exactly All-Star teams, it was Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and a ton of role players. When I say role players, yes there was Dennis Rodman and Horace Grant, but there was also Luc Longley, Scott Williams, Rusty LaRue, and many more no-names. He won 6 championships with this type of help. The one thing I give LeBron is that he carried that 2007 Cavaliers team to the Finals, albeit they got swept by the Spurs, the fact that he got them there is incredible but you cannot compare the talent on any of Jordan’s Bulls teams to any of LeBron’s or Kobe’s championship teams.
The bottom-line is Michael Jeffery Jordan is the greatest NBA player ever and always will be, STOP COMPARING HIM TO OTHERS!!
The Justyn Times 