Derrick Rose IS THE BEST PG in the NBA

[Obst]

MVP MVP MVP

[Warner2BruceTD]

ESPN Insider article on da Bulls:

 

By John Hollinger

Ask somebody about this season's Chicago Bulls, and the answer you'll get is likely to be something along the lines of "DerrickRoseDerrickRoseDerrickRoseDerrickRose. "

Not to diminish what Rose has accomplished in what's been a breakout season for the third-year star, but the focus on his season has left the Bulls one of the most misunderstood teams in basketball. Chicago has the league's fifth-best record and is challenging for the top seed in the East for several reasons, and other than Rose, those reasons have received comparatively little attention. So let's look a little closer.

It's the defense.

From one perspective, the focus on the point guard's offensive accomplishments seems misguided. The Bulls have the league's 16th-best offense this season, and while that may improve a little during the second half of the season with Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah back from injury, offense will remain a distant second on the list of reasons for Chicago's success.

Instead, the Bulls are winning with a suffocating defense that allows their very ordinary offense to be enough on most nights. Chicago is No. 1 in defensive efficiency, an accomplishment made more amazing by the fact that Noah, the team's defensive stalwart, has missed just more than half of its games (30 of 59).

But it's important to understand the Bulls as an extreme defensive team to understand their success. You often hear, sometimes in praise of Rose's offensive prowess, people wondering aloud about how the Bulls can be playing so well with Keith Bogans at shooting guard and only two good scorers.

The answer is that offensively, they're not playing so well. They're just so awesome on defense that it doesn't matter.

And in particular, it's been the supporting cast that's been dominant defensively. Speaking of which ...

It's the bench.

Chicago's defensive stats with its starters in the game are pretty good. But with the bench? They're ridiculously good.

The Bulls give up just more than a point per possession with any of their five starters on the court, but with the second unit, it's a different story. When Taj Gibson is on the floor, opponents score .994 points per trip. When Ronnie Brewer plays, they muster just .956. When C.J. Watson plays, the number drops to .938.

And with Omer Asik on the court, it's a phenomenal .919 points per possession. Asik, not Rose, is the team leader in plus/minus, even though he has limited offensive skills and a player efficiency rating of 11.35. The backup center is a force as a shot-blocker and help defender, combining with Gibson to form what is, hands down, the best second-unit defensive frontcourt in basketball.

Nobody thinks of Asik as a dominating defensive player because he has a fairly thin build and limited offensive skills, plus it's hard to consider somebody an intimidating presence when he looks like the chef from "Ratatouille." But trust me, he's a monster. This time, instead of hearing me rave about Asik's D again, listen to his coaches.

"When you put he and Taj out there together, the defense of that unit has been great," Bulls coach Tim Thibodeau said. "That's his mindset, and he's got a lot of experience. It's international experience, so in my eyes he's not a typical rookie. He's very, very bright, picks things up quickly, rarely makes the same mistake twice and [has] great drive, a great worker."

Yet Thibodeau sounds like a rank pessimist compared to assistant coach Ron Adams.

"I think he can be as good as any defensive player in this league," Adams said. "Defensively, I just think he's top-of-the-line. And he's getting close to it already."

Of course, it's not just the rook -- Asik is playing only 11.7 minutes per game, so as dominant as he's been defensively, he explains only a portion of Chicago's improved D.

Gibson, as Thibodeau mentioned, also has been a major factor. So has Brewer, with his perimeter ball hawking, and of course Noah. But perhaps the best attribute of Chicago's defense is that, other than Boozer, there really hasn't been a weak link. Rose was a poor defender under Vinny Del Negro but has improved dramatically this season, while Kyle Korver -- the closest thing to a weakness on the perimeter -- has good size and is a quality team defender.

On the other hand, a lot of these guys were on far less successful defensive teams in the past. The Bulls were good defensively a year ago, but by no means great. Boozer, Korver and Brewer were all part of mediocre defensive teams in Utah, with Brewer washing out as a defensive stopper. Watson participated in a woeful Golden State defense and appeared to be no better than his peers, while Bogans and Kurt Thomas have been mostly bit players.

Which takes us to the next logical conclusion …

It's the coach.

Yes, Tom Thibodeau's stuff works. The top defensive assistant in Boston, he was the architect of the Celtics' system that won a title in 2008 and has largely stymied opponents ever since. In fact, you can argue that Thibodeau owns the top two defenses in the game -- the Bulls are first in defensive efficiency, and the Celtics are second.

Before coming to Boston, Thibodeau was Jeff Van Gundy's defensive guru in Houston, where he posted similarly gaudy defensive stats despite some teams that appear to be rather modestly talented in that department.

Sum it all up, and there's a fairly ironclad coach of the year case to be made for Thibodeau, especially given the injuries to Boozer and Noah that Chicago has overcome this season. That doesn't mean he'll win, not when Gregg Popovich has the Spurs en route to a mid-60s win total, Rick Carlisle is squeezing just as much out of the Mavs and Doug Collins is leading the Sixers to a surprise playoff charge.

But the Bulls' collective success is best understood as a combination of a great defensive concept being implemented by a 10-deep roster, one on which the bench is even more suffocating than the starters.

Rose's plays fill the highlight film, and for good reason -- many of them are spectacular. But in explaining how shockingly good Chicago has been thus far, all that takes a backseat. Rose may be the savior on offense, but in explaining the Bulls' success this season, the holy trinity is the D, the bench and the coach.

Thanks to ESPN Chicago's Nick Friedell for his reporting included in this piece.

Maybe the reason the Bulls opponents score less points when the Bulls backups are on the floor, is because the backups are playing against the other teams second unit.

Taj Gibson and Omer Asik arent d-ing up Steve Nash and Dwight Howard for 32 minutes, their guarding other scrubs for 16.

[Esjay]

This guy is SO much better/advanced than I thought he would be at this point. He's one of a few guys I would pay good money to see.

[ryne candy]

The game I went to Saturday was great. He had one play where he lost the ball and the defender took it to make a layup...Rose ran him down and blocked it. Right now...he's the best PG. I'm glad Chi did pick him in the draft....had he been this good on another team, Bulls fans would be hating the team for not picking him. Had he been horrible (or not lived up to hype)....he was still a Chicago native and best PG coming into the draft (according to many).

[zack54attack]

The MVP is roasting the Celtics right now..

[zack54attack]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KriJ0EJkNfA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KriJ0EJkNfA[/ame]

[KNUBB]

A quick review of these stats tells us that both players sport close to equal numbers in minutes played, free throw percentage, and rebounds. Apart from that, the separation occurs. Rose bests Paul in only one area - points per game. That may sound siginificant, but Rose is getting those points this season at a MUCH lower efficiency than Paul did in his MVP-worthy season. Paul made nearly 49% of his shots, significantly higher than Rose's 44%, and held a similar 37% to 33% advantage from three point range.

Creating even more distance between the two is each player's assist and steal averages. In the 2007-08 season, CP3 led the league in both assists and steals; his 11.6 assist per game total was .5 assists higher than the next closest player (Steve Nash), and his 2.71 steals per game rate was a staggering .38 steals higher than second place in that category (Ron Artest and Baron Davis). Rose comes nowhere close to either of these averages, dishing out 7.9 dimes per game to go along with 1.1 steals per game. Both are respectable numbers, but nowhere near MVP caliber.

As an NBA point guard, one of your main responsibilities is to take care of the basketball. Suffice it to say that a 10 turnover outing like the one Rose had last game isn't going to help his MVP candidacy. Rose is averaging a full turnover more per game this season than Chris Paul did three seasons ago, although part of this can be attributed to a higher usage rate (31.7% for Rose vs. 27.0% for Paul). That being said, his 10.1% turnover rate (a stat which is adjusted for possessions that a player uses) is still significantly higher than Paul's miniscule 7.8% rate in 2007-08, a number that was second lowest in the league for starting PGs. The lowest? Derek Fisher; however, with Fish's lack of aggression while deferring to Kobe on most Lakers possessions, that shouldn't come as a huge surprise.

Finally, we arrive at both Paul and Rose's player efficiency ratings for their seasons in question; but first, a little bit of historical data. In the past 20 seasons, the MVP has finished in the top five in PER 16 times. Over this twenty year span, the average PER for an MVP award winner is 27.33. Like all statistical evaluation tools, even PER has a flaw or two, but the correlation between the metric and the MVP award is impossible to ignore. Derrick Rose currently sports a PER of 23.37, good for 11th in the NBA; however, if the season ended today and he was indeed crowned MVP, it would be the lowest PER for an MVP winner not named Steve Nash since Dave Cowens won the award in 1973. That's almost 40 years ago! In Chris Paul's 2007-08 season, he finished the year with a PER of 28.39, second in the NBA to LeBron James, and 5 spots ahead of actual winner Kobe Bryant's 24.2 PER. The point here isn't to complain about past events (even though CP3 obviously should have beaten out Kobe that season), but instead to put Rose's current season in perspective. Are his numbers truly deserving of the MVP award? I don't think so.

Of course, there's one more argument that is left to be made - after all, basketball is a team sport, isn't it? Derrick Rose is the leader of a team which currently rests atop the Eastern Conference, a position few expected it to be in before the season began. This sounds eerily similar to a certain 2007-08 Hornets team which finished one game behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the top spot in the Western conference, an achievement that absolutely nobody foresaw. That Chris Paul-led Hornets team finished 5th in the NBA in offensive rating and 7th in defensive rating; with players such as Morris Peterson, Peja Stojakovic, and David West in the lineup, the vast majority of the defensive burden fell on both Paul and Tyson Chandler, and both delivered. Rose, on the other hand, has been hailed primarily for his offense, not his defense; ironically, the Bulls are first in the NBA in defensive rating so far this season and just 14th in offensive rating. In a nutshell, while Rose's season has obviously been a strong one, it is not the primary reason that the Bulls have won the majority of their games. Chicago has gotten to where they are thanks to the impeccable defensive system implemented by new coach Tom Thibodeau, and the entire team's willingness to buy in and adjust to his teachings.

For the record, if I had an MVP vote, it would absolutely go to Dwight Howard (26.18 PER,14.3 RPG, and 2.41 BPG each rank 2nd in the NBA, and his team would be a complete wreck without him); however, that's not the point of this column. If Derrick Rose - whose current season is inferior to Chris Paul's 2007-08 season in almost every way - is crowned as this season's Most Valuable Player, I think the NBA needs to take a long look at the criteria that is used by voters to determine who wins this award, because the decision making process will appear as inconsistent as ever.

I didn't write this but I agree with everything said in this article including his choice for MVP.

[FirstTimer]

Let me guess?

Hollinger.

Now he's abandoned Lebron James for MVP and moved over to Dwight Howard.

I find it funny Hollinger is so tied up in Rose not getting the MVP yet he has the Bulls ranked #1 in his power rankings. Gee, I wonder who is the most responisble person for that?

[KNUBB]

Let me guess?

Hollinger.

Now he's abandoned Lebron James for MVP and moved over to Dwight Howard.

I find it funny Hollinger is so tied up in Rose not getting the MVP yet he has the Bulls ranked #1 in his power rankings. Gee, I wonder who is the most responisble person for that?

Naw it wasnt written by Hollinger. this was a well thought out user created article.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ryne candy]

yeah I'd have to find out who wrote it. I wouldn't take anyone from Chicago or Boston area....too much conflict. I really don't listen to what Wilbon says because he is a homer when it comes to Cubs/Bulls and I'm a fan of both teams. Orlando might as well count their days with Howard....I can see him signing elsewhere or getting traded (so they at least get something in return).

[Bear Pand]

I apologize for making fun of Rose's illiteracy earlier in the season. He's a sick player.

[FirstTimer]

I apologize for making fun of Rose's illiteracy earlier in the season. He's a sick player.

I'm sure he'd thank you if he could read this.

[FirstTimer]

Naw it wasnt written by Hollinger. this was a well thought out user created article.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well then he's basically plagiarizing most of Hollinger's logic/love fest about PER/Tom Thibideau etc.

[Solidrob]

THE POINT GOD

[zack54attack]

Let me guess?

Hollinger.

Now he's abandoned Lebron James for MVP and moved over to Dwight Howard.

I find it funny Hollinger is so tied up in Rose not getting the MVP yet he has the Bulls ranked #1 in his power rankings. Gee, I wonder who is the most responisble person for that?

yeah I'd have to find out who wrote it. I wouldn't take anyone from Chicago or Boston area....too much conflict. I really don't listen to what Wilbon says because he is a homer when it comes to Cubs/Bulls and I'm a fan of both teams. Orlando might as well count their days with Howard....I can see him signing elsewhere or getting traded (so they at least get something in return).

I didn't write this but I agree with everything said in this article including his choice for MVP.

"Rose for MVP" Support is an Insult to Chris Paul - At The Hive

It's a fan article from SBNATION's Hornets site.