On The Backburner: Pain and Persistence

What a terrible feeling.  The moment you read the news, “Derrick Rose…ACL…remainder of playoffs”.  Gut wrenching.  Our hero.  The kid from Chicago.  With a forty-inch-vertical.  And a forty-inch-heart.

We knew this was possible.  He plays the game with an attitude, consistently gliding past defenders, and in the process putting strenuous force on his lower body.  But an ACL injury?  In the first game of the playoffs?  With a buck & change left?

Pure emotional pain.  I’ve never seen a fan base so emotionally attached to one player.  And for good reason.  He has the perfect charisma for Chicagoans.  Should I list the attributes?  You already know them.

I guess I’m here to say Bulls fans must face a new reality.  Long-term?  We don’t know.  Short-term?  We need to carry forward.  On a side note, this is a wake-up call to management to secure another legitimate star.  Gar-Pax has done a great job building this roster, but too much of the endgame relies on one player.

We mustn’t dwell on the past.  It’s time to rally around this Bulls team.  Deng, Noah, Boozer, Ronnie, Taj, Kyle, C.J..  This is still a pretty damn good team.  And a fun team.  We need to find that pre-2008 Bulls playoff spirit.  The Gordon-Deng chest bump.  The youthful, college-like basketball exuberance.  The emotion of a bunch of grinders out-grinding the opponent.  I know it’s not sexy, or NBA-ish, to act like we did back then… but let’s try.  I know there’s a tiny part in every Bulls fan thinking, “What if we somehow got to the ECF and pushed Miami to the brink?”.  Let’s think like that, for fucks sake, cause we’re the best fans in the league, and we deserve to dream big during this emotional downer.

This is Chicago Bulls basketball.  

Let’s - Go - Bulls!

Shawn
Pro-basket blog contributor

Jonesin' Around: Rise With Rose

Yesterday was very difficult. For over 24 hours, I have been mired in Kubler-Ross's fourth stage of grief: depression. I just can't understand why it happened.

Why then? Why the ACL? Why him?

Watching Derrick Rose go down with 1:10 left in the first game of the 2011 NBA Playoffs was something no true basketball fan will forget. It was the moment that the heartbeat of an entire city stopped, only to return with an arrhythmia, and a strong sense of sorrow.

Our star, our MVP, and our friend won't be playing basketball for the remainder of the tournament, and that breaks my heart for reasons far beyond the sport.

Four years ago, the Bulls selected a quiet, shy kid from the University of Memphis with the first overall pick in the NBA draft. Having grown up in Chicago, there was never a moment in which the city did not consider Derrick "one of us." He took that familiarity and refused to settle for complacency. Instead, he built a stellar career, earning the respect and awe of fans league-wide by winning Rookie of the Year, being the first Chicago Bulls All-Star since the Jordan years, and earning the 2011 NBA MVP award. In return, we showered him with the love often reserved for long-established legends.

But you want to know why we love him? Yes, he wins basketball games in a basketball town. Sure, he put a storied franchise back on the map. Fine, he cares for the city of Chicago as much as we all do. But that's all secondary to why DRose matters to us. It is his character and genuine love for the game, that we adore. It is the fact that after signing a 95 million dollar contract, the only thought on his mind was letting his mother know "we finally made it." It is the memory that he brought a tear to every fan's eye after winning the Most Valuable Player award, by showing us his full awareness of his circumstances, and how grateful he is of his lot in life. We love Derrick Rose because he is a high quality human being that understands his primary source of joy.

The reason this injury hurts is because we don't want to see someone we deeply care about suffer. The feeling is akin to learning that a family member was laid off from their dream job. You want to put your arm around them and not see them in pain. We want to help his mental state far more than we care about a playoff run.

Derrick's entire life is basketball. He loves it the same way any of us love a person. It is his vital, athletic, and creative outlet. It is as necessary to him as breathing, simply because it is such an expression of self. His game is his art, with the body and the ball as subjects, and the court as the canvas. Imagine snatching the pen from an author's fingers, and then breaking their hand. To take away a person's form of expression is to take away a part of their humanity. None of us want him to feel whatever he must be feeling. We just want him to be happy. That's it.

It is, therefore, our responsibility to be there for our friend. We are the ones that must bring a smile to his face. We are the ones that need to Rise With Rose. Show him your love and support. Tell him you understand that this is about more than sports.

It's time for us to stand behind him, Chicago

We can do this is by being vocal with our hopes of a full recovery, so that our words and sentiment reach his ears. As long as it takes, we will be there to see him create art again.

Support the Chicago Bulls this year. They are his troops and he is their general. They will play for him, and we will cheer for them. From today forward, the team is the symbol of a community that cares about one another.

Let this incident also remind us of the greater truth: that our passions are what make us human, and that we should encourage their expression in ourselves and others.

Derrick, you are a good man, and we know what you had taken from you today. It is a great sorrow. Just know that we are here for you. We will see you return to what you love. We intend to show you the same care that you've shown for members of your personal and professional families, because you are a part of all of ours. Take good care, and know that we are with you.

Go Bulls,
Tapan Jones

Going Upstairs: What are Bulls fans supposed to think?

I missed nearly all of Game 1 between the Bulls and the 76ers Saturday (ironically, I was attending a funeral), but did return home in time to see the final two and a half minutes. There could not have been a worse time to tune in to what was certainly the worst moment of the Bulls season.

Going Upstairs: Documenting Picks

When making series predictions, many writers like to pick how many games each series will go as a measure of how competitive it will be. But as we all know, not every five or six game series are created equal. Many times a five game series can be called a "gentleman's sweep" and other times it can be competitive, like the Bulls-Heat series last year. And six game series can be a product of home-court match-ups, or be an indicator of an actual competitive series that almost went seven games. For this reason, I will use half-game intervals in addition to the typical number of games.

So, here we go with my official first round predictions:

Chicago over Philadelphia (5.5 games)

The Sixers will win one home game and might sneak a game in Chicago as well. But still too much talent on the Bulls side.

Boston over Atlanta (6 games)

I think the Hawks can make this competitive, especially since they have home-court advantage. But the Celtics are too locked-in.

Miami over New York (6.5 games)

Carmelo vs. LeBron, finally. Unfortunately for the Knicks, the Heat wake up for the playoffs and take care of business. But not before some epic games at MSG, be sure to watch.

Indiana over Orlando (5 games)

The Pacers are a very impressive team and will not sleep through this series like the Bulls or Heat might. The Magic might win a game on hot shooting.

San Antonio over Utah (4.5 games)

Not enough experience on the Jazz side to make this competitive, as they will have a little too much of the "happy to be here" feeling. 

Memphis over LA Clippers (7 games)

Home-court advantage goes a long way here. The brilliance of Chris Paul in the playoffs will not be enough to overcome Vinny Del Negro's ineffectiveness as a coach.

Oklahoma City over Dallas (5.5 games)

Sad to see the defending champs bow out like this, but the hangover effect is still there. The Thunder want to take care of business

LA Lakers over Denver (6 games)

It will be difficult for the Lakers to win in Denver, which is why this will be a long series. But the Lakers best three players would all be the best player on the Nuggets roster. Talent wins out.