Boy, am I sick of the hype surrounding this year's NBA draft class. I've already made my feelings clear; I think we'll look back on 2008 as a weak year for talent.
Today I was watching ESPN's pre-draft coverage, and Jay Bilas labeled Derrick Rose as a "more dynamic Deron Williams."
What?
Let's clarify what "A is a more _____ B" means, first. To me, this means B is everything A is, and even more, ie. what is in the blank. For example, "Peja is a more sane Vujacic," or "Pixar is a more intelligent Disney."
I agree that Rose is fast, quick, and can get to the hoop. He may even be better at out-quicking defenders while driving to the rim than Deron is.
But the one thing everyone glosses over is Rose's vision. Can he see teammates for open baskets? Can be anticipate plays before they develop? Can he break down a half-court defense and create good offense for his guys?
I doubt it. Rose only averaged 4.7 assists in 30 minutes per game this last season. Memphis scored 80 points a game, which means Rose created less than 10 points per game (or 12.5%) of his team's offense though his passing.
On the other hand, Deron averaged 6.7 assists in 33 mpg in 2004, with Dee Brown sharing the ball distribution to the tune of 4.5 apg. Illinois scored 76 ppg that year. Hence, Deron was responsible for almost 13 points per game (or 17%) of his team's offense, while sharing the dimes with Brown.
I expect Rose to average around six or seven assists per for his career high, while shooting a rather low percentage on his jumpers.
I certainly don't see him averaging 19 and 10, while shooting 50% from the field and 40% from the 3.
Essentially, Rose is a more quick Kirk Hinrich.
Can Rose come to Chicago and make the Bulls go? To be honest, I don't think there are many players who can. When your headline players are... um.... Luol Deng, and uh... Larry Hughes, and.... Ben Gordon, I guess, there's not much to work with.
Oh, and Vinny Del Negro is your coach. No offense to Vinny, but it's common knowledge that he was like Chicago's sixth choice after they fired Scott Skiles.
I guess what I'm trying to say is this: Rose won't make the Bulls a playoff contender any time soon.
And if he does, please feel free to bring up this post and mock me.
2 comments:
They could trade Hinrich for a PF or C and they could be there in the playoffs. Or they could throw in Gordon or Hughes and get both a PF and a C.
Good point, B. It's stupid to talk about a "more dynamic Deron Williams." That's like saying a network is a "more left-wing CNN." Deron is already the portrait of a dynamic player. He is aggressive, competitive, quick and a good leaper. Not to mention he is the toughness on a talented team which wouldn't be nearly as good without him to run the show. Utah's unfortunately small market and unusual time zone means most people haven't seen Williams and don't know what he can do or how skilled he is.
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