Bull of the Day: Dennis Rodman

In the spirit of broke ballers, I wanted to give Dennis Rodman some necessary credit for his tremendous impact and part of several important Bulls' teams.

Rodman came to Chicago, in a trade that was literally the steal of the decade. Will "he's not just chicken" Perdue for Dennis, straight-up. Yes, one for one. Will Perdue. Will Perdue.

Rodman went on to be a crucial member of the most prolific team in NBA history: the 1995-96 Bulls. They stomped on hopeless opponents on their way to a 72-10 record, and Rodman became the "Horace Grant" of the 2nd dynasty (sans goggles).

He averaged 15 boards per game, and played with the defensive intensity the team sorely needed. Mind you, its still somewhat unknown what the hell Dennis did at night, though we know it involved a lot of partying that only he could get away with. Rodman might have flamed out elsewhere, but in Chicago, with the Zen Master and MJ leading things, Rodman was given the perfect atmosphere to flourish.

While his career in Chicago ended with the end of the Bulls dynasty, he ended up playing parts of 2 seasons with the Lakers and Mavericks. His stat line with the Lakers was good (2/11/1) but his antics wore out before the playoffs could begin.

I'll always remember him for the McDonald's cup that changed his hair color with your drink, but I guess he also dressed like a tranny from time to time.

Is Adidas to blame for Derrick's injury woes?

As recent followers of SN might have realized, this isn't your everyday Bulls blog. I don't need to give you a summary of the game, the Trib does that. I try to provide valuable/funny/stupid insights and posts to enrich your life as Bulls or basketball fan.

That being said, I'm typing this with the Bulls pounding ATL. JL3 is continuing is dominance as the most irrational confidence guy since Jamal Crawford (hey, at least BG's confidence was rational), and Zaza is pissing me off. Such an annoying and dirty player. Luol's dominating, and Boozer looks like the Carlos we all hoped for after he posted such great numbers in Utah.

It's troubling that this game reaffirms the current trend of getting up for big games and then coasting against teams like Toronto. With Rose out, the team doesn't have the killer, MJ-esque attitude where they just want to be the hell out of you for 3 quarters and hit the bench. Ultimately that's not surprising given the way our offense currently functions.

Overall, I'm still really impressed with this team's ability to win when they're tired and don't feel like playing and pick up the slack when Derrick's out of the line-up. But if there's anything that makes me nervous about the playoffs, it's Derrick's health.

It's almost a laundry list at this point, but he told the Trib's KC Johnson the other day that he thinks they're all linked. This makes perfect sense. I recently sprained my ankle (wearing Adidas Rose 2.5's mind you) and can already tell I'm developing some knee issues linked to crutching.

What do I think caused his injuries, you ask?

First and foremost, his style of play. Yeah, guys like LeBron and Kobe also get injured and take it to the rack with no regard for their bodies, but they're also bigger (or, in LeBron's case, fucking huge). But they also don't get slammed to the ground as much as Derrick does, and they continue to own the zebras. You'd see some people on the Knicks fouling out if they did LeBron like they did Derrick.

At the same time, Steve Francis and Penny took the ball to the hole a lot, and they got hurt. Dwyane Wade does the same, and he's also rather injury prone. It's not unheard of that a guy going up all and getting hit all the time get injured, but it is dangerous when that guy is the heart and soul of your team.

But that's a little too easy.

As Mars Blackmon once said, "Its gotta be the shoes."

Stay with me here, and take a look.

Take a look at the midsole (the white area) in the top picture. If you look closely, you'll see that the part of the shoe he's standing on is likely narrower than his foot.

This is the Kobe VII. You can see the midsole is mostly intact with the ground at all times, and that the sides actually flair out on the top part of the sole to provide more stability.

I think this stability issue, along with the inferior cushioning provided, may be the source of Derrick's issues. It'd be interested to see if his injuries still nagged when he's wearing a far superior performance product.

It's not crazy to think footwear can make that much of an impact. I.e. I went 5 years without an injury, and played in Adidas for the first time in nearly 10 years, and now I can't walk. Most of my Nike's have been able to compensate for ankle rolls and limit the damage.

If you want a more in-depth review of either shoe, let me know, but for now...I'm wishing Adidas hadn't thrown D.Rose $200 million...

For basketball success, rock these instead NIKE Jordan Son of Mars Men's Basketball Shoes, White/Black/Purple - 10.0

We're living on a prayer...

Anyone watching the Bulls' lately knows...they have not been playing great basketball. Well, as a team, the defense has been nothing short of spectacular. Offensively...well, let's just say the only more one-manned team with Boozer out is my intramural team.

I've been going to a lot of games lately (in spite of the lack of posts) and I wanted to share a few observations. 

From the Celtics game:

Derek Rose is the best guard in the NBA. Period. I know Kobe has proven more, Wade's pretty tough too, but I saw this man literally battle the Celtics BY HIMSELF. He knew when to take over. He knew when to go and remind us all of MJ. You could say it was a little like Sum 41 in the sense that it was a killer no filler.

I'm not quite ready to say he's better than LeBron, (and he's played MUCH better than Kobe this year, who looks like Jordan-light at the end of his career, except a much more inconsistent shooter), or KD, but Rose is the MVP so far, and I see no reason why it shouldn't continue. 

From the Cavaliers' game:

Rose is disgusting, but he needs some help in the form of another perimeter creator. How good would BG look next to him? About as good as Natalie Portman in every movie she's been in. (I'm thinking Star Wars Episode 2 with the ripped shirt).

The lack of effort against the good teams is disturbing, but I can't knock D.Rose for saving his effort for when they need him. Just please, someone step up. It seems like CJ Watson is occasionally the only thing representing an NBA scorer off the bench. 

From lately, I'd hate to say I told ya so but, KURT THOMAS IS THE BUSINESS. I've been a big fan since his days with the Knicks, and was pretty encouraged by his signing. When Joakim returns, we are in business now that Omer won't have to see the court anymore. 

In the spirit of Bill Murray, "Let's go Bullz"!

Lakers tonight

Should be a great game. ESPN writer Mike Wilbon has an awesome story about Kobe and how he is kind of labeling D. Rose that next dude.

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nba/columns/story?columnist=wilbon_michael&id=5905182
If he can be anything close to the next Kobe, we're in for a real treat.

I think we've got a real shot at this one tonight, at the very least, a close game.

I'll go Bulls 98 Lakers 95

Lakers haven't really won against good teams on the road yet.

I've Survived Finals 2010

Well, I didn't think I would make it out alive, but somehow I did. 4 tests in 24 hours, only the slightest sleep for 4 days, and a 12 page forecasting paper. 


Either way, you know the deal, Bulls vs Lakers tonight, and sadly, maybe one of the worst things that has ever happened to me, I happened to make plans with my girlfriend so I won't get to watch the game.


I think the NBA is rather romantic, especially a battle between D. Rose and Kobe, but she does not agree. Hopefully I'll catch a replay tomorrow. This game's going to be great.