Derrick Rose has had countless critics when it comes to his fitness over the last three years. And in that time, Rose has not let those critics get the better of him. Well now, the Chicago Bulls man has gently released some steam.
ROSE: THERE’S NO WAY YOU CAN TAKE ME OUT OF THE GAME
No matter what you do: D-Rose will bounce back.
The Chicago Bulls guard was back to his best on Monday in their 129-120 win over the Eastern Conference’s number 1 ranked team, the Toronto Raptors. He scored 15 of his 29 points in the final quarter and the Bulls man was scoring in multiple ways.
Via CSN Chicago:
Rose had arguably his best performance of the season, scoring 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls topped the East-leading Raptors, 129-120, in front of a sellout crowd at the United Center…
Rose played the final 7 minutes of the fourth quarter, reeling off eight points in a two-minute span with an array of jumpers, floaters and drives to the basket that turned what had been a see-saw fourth quarter into a runaway win for the Bulls.
Rose stepped into his jumpers. He attacked the basket with ease. And he played within the offense, feeding off of screens from Joakim Noah and a three-guard lineup the Raptors had no answer for down the stretch.
“There’s no way you can take me out of the game, no matter what you do,” Rose said. “I’m just that confident.”
Rose connected on a 20-footer to open his scoring, and two trips later hit a running floater to extend the Bulls’ lead to three, 98-95. He then hit a pair of contested jumpers to balloon the margin to six, the Bulls’ biggest of the night to that point.
Later in the period he drew multiple defenders in the paint and found Noah wide open underneath the basket to finish with a slam. Rose then put the finishing touches on his dominant quarter with five straight points that pushed the lead to 10 with two minutes to play.
The end result for Rose was 15 points on 6-for-6 shooting. The Bulls scored a franchise-record 49 points in the quarter, with 34 of those coming in the final seven minutes with Rose on the floor. The Bulls didn’t miss a shot from the field with Rose leading the offense, and though Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry added 18 of his 34 points in that final stanza, he couldn’t match Rose’s relenting confidence.
Sacramento had recently initiated talks with the Nets, proposing a deal for Williams and second-year forward Mason Plumlee, who was actually the Kings’ main target, sources said.
With Plumlee struggling and clashing a bit with new Nets coach Lionel Hollins over the first month of the season, the Kings were hoping he might be available. To compel the Nets into moving Plumlee, they considered taking on Williams, whose contract and history of injuries has scared off many clubs.
Brooklyn, however, has no intention of moving Plumlee, who has surged to average 18 points and 10.2 rebounds over the past six games. With no chance of getting Plumlee, the Kings backed away from Williams.
While talks have slowed, a potential deal for Williams is not completely dead, according to sources. Sacramento was interested in acquiring Rajon Rondo, who was recently traded from Boston to Dallas, so it could remain in the market for a point guard.
One source said he expects talks between the two clubs to continue until the trade deadline in February.
COMMISSIONER SILVER IN A BAIT AND SWITCH?
New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie says a call from NBA commissioner Adam Silver to join him in lobbying Congress to legalize sports betting across the nation is a “bait and switch.”
Via AP:
Christie said during a televised interview Monday night that it was “kind of crazy” for Silver to ask him to help with a legalization push when Silver is part of a lawsuit blocking sports betting in his state.
“I think it’s kind of crazy for the commissioner of the NBA to say, on one hand, ‘Join me, governor, let’s have legalized sports gaming everywhere. But not in New Jersey right now,'” Christie said.
“What I call it, quite frankly,” he added, “is a bait and switch.”
Silver supports overturning the federal statute that prohibits most states from authorizing sports betting. He repeated his position during a podcast interview that aired Monday on ESPN.
“Gov. Christie, and I’m happy to join him, should turn his attention to Washington, D.C., to Congress, and say, ‘Here are all the reasons it should be regulated,'” Silver said.
“But let’s come up with a framework that makes sense on a national basis, presumably that would allow states to opt in,” he continued, pressing the need for consistency from state to state.
But Christie rejected the premise.
“If Adam Silver believes that sports gaming is OK, then allow sports gaming in New Jersey, allow us to be the model,” he said.
The NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball and the NCAA sued Christie in 2012 to block his attempts to legalize the practice.
A federal judge has barred New Jersey from introducing sports betting at casinos and racetracks, saying it violates federal law.
O’NEAL SAYS HE’S BETTER THAN 60 PERCENT OF ALL BIG MEN
Jermaine O’Neal is better than 60 percent of all big men in the NBA … according to O’Neal himself.
Today, JO took to Twitter to clear the air about his potential comeback and explain where his head is at right now.
The most interesting part of his half-dozen tweets was that O’Neal suggests he’s still better than more than “60 percent” of the bigs in the NBA currently. It’s hard to say how accurate that is, given that we haven’t seen O’Neal on the court in a year, but we admire his confidence—and he will be a hot commodity for contending teams like Dallas, Cleveland and Golden State if he decides to return.
Via Jermaine O’Neal’s Twitter:
Can I physically still play?Probably better than 60% of the bigs in the league today! That’s not a knock on anyone but more about how I feel
