I understand this is a brash statement early in the season and the NBA is full of players who are contending for the award, but by the time the trophy has been molded to shape and the name plate inscripted, Rose will clarify himself as the best player in the league.

Rose led the Bulls to a 9-6 record in the first 15 games of the season and was on top of each box score in everything but rebounds and blocks, although he has those on his season stat board as well. Since then, Chicago is the third best team in the Eastern Conference with a 16-9 record, including a seven game win streak.

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Unlike Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics, Rose is ranked in the top 10 of the league’s assist men without having a team full of future hall of famers or pinpoint shooters. Rose isn’t working with historical 3-point shooter Ray Allen or Paul Pierce, who is one of the most physical offensive threats in the NBA, but with a roster full of defensive-minded players. Kyle Korver is the only true shooter the Bulls have and he doesn’t get more than 23 minutes per game because he doesn’t play defense coach Tom Thibodeau’s way.

Though Carlos Boozer is now back from injury and playing well, when the Bulls are running the court Rose has to either hope someone is under the basket or take it himself, because a spot shooter is not an option.

Rose is averaging 25 points a game which was fourth-highest in the league, but the efforts of the Dallas Maverick’s Dirk Nowitzki and the Golden State Warrior’s Manta Ellis have slid him to sixth. Ellis is doing nothing but scoring while his team is the third worst in the Western Conference with a 8-19 record. On the other hand, Nowitzki has been playing around the similar level of play he was when he won the MVP for the 2006-07 season.

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Chicago defeated the Mavericks 88-83 Nov. 19 even with Dirk scoring 36 points and beat the Warriors handily12-90 Nov. 11.

The other three ahead of him–Kobe Bryant, Amare Stoudemire and Kevin Durant–are all realistic MVP candidates and most likely on the watch list ahead of Rose. But Kobe will slow down as the season goes on similar to last year, Stoudemire’s defensive weakness will haunt him and Durant doesn’t do much more than shoot the ball and grab a few rebounds.

Against the Lakers Dec. 10, Rose out shined everyone under the LA sun including the king of all NBA stars, Kobe Bryant as Rose went for 29 points and nine assists while Bryant had 23 and seven. There isn’t much of a difference, but the extra six points Rose scored compared to Kobe gave the Bulls a 88-84 victory.

Every layup Rose attempted, whether it went through the twine or bounced off the rim could have made any highlight reel because of the show of talent and beauty each one of them possessed.

Rose is scoring high, assisting high and leading a team everyone wrote off or gave a small chance to be successful this season. If a game is tied in the late stages or a buzzer beater needs to be hit to win in overtime–see the Houston Rockets game Dec. 4–Rose steps up and gets the W.

The New York Knicks are in sixth place but would be out of the playoffs without Stoudemire, while the Oklahoma City Thunder are coasting only because of Durant.

Without Rose, the Bulls would be in the basement of the NBA and no one would be talking about them doing anything except firing one coach and hiring another.

Although the Thunder are in fifth place in the Western Conference with a 19-9 record, they fell to the Bulls December 6.

Rose and the Bulls are almost unbeatable at the United Center (10-3), which isn’t even the arena Rose has shined in the most. During the seven-games-in-11-days west coast road trip in mid-November, he played in six games and had 30 or more points in five of them.

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Since then he has continued to attack opposing defenses with the same tenacity, which has given him consistent numbers the entire season. The Los Angeles Clippers may have defeated the Bulls 100-99 Saturday, but it wasn’t due to lack of effort from Rose, who understands everyone has to step up their game since Joakim Noah is out of the lineup for 8-to-10 weeks to recover from a surgery he had to repair torn ligaments in his right thumb.

Without the big man in the middle, Rose realized he had to take the hoop to the basket more to get open looks for others or to simply bring the defense inside to give the outside some breathing room. He had game highs with 34 points and eight assists while also grabbing six rebounds.

I could write all-day about Rose’s great play and how he deserves more recognition then he receives around the league but I think it can all be summed up by stating…The All-Star who is soon to be labeled a superstar is putting up top NBA numbers and making his team, full of marginal role players, put up better numbers while earning victories against other MVP candidates.

This makes him a top MVP vote getter in my book.

Saturday, Chicago answered the hype once again early in the season, by leaving their “circus trip” on the west coast with a 4-3 record. The first winning record on the annual road trip since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were the kings of the court in 1998.

The pieces of talent and solid coaching are coming together to have the Bulls answer the hype, even though Boozer hasn’t played a game and won’t until Wednesday or Friday.

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At 9-6, the Bulls are on top of the central division and are the fourth best team in the Eastern Conference, but only a half game behind the Atlanta Hawks, who have played three more games than the Bulls. The Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic are only two and a half games ahead of the Bulls as they are tied with 12-4 records.

I’ve said this before, but the Bulls are doing all of this without Boozer.

On the road trip, Chicago played great basketball and gave each of its west coast opponents competition, which is the first time in 12 years.

The Bulls started the 7 games in 11 days road trip by defeat the Houston Rockets (5-11), which wasn’t a surprise because the Rockets are not playing well because they can’t find a way to include Kevin Martin in the offense or find someone on the bench to add any scoring.

Tony Parker, who had just been served divorce papers from Eva Longoria a few hours before the game, made sure his San Antonio Spurs (14-2) would get the win on the second game of Chicago’s road trip. The Spurs won 103-94, but the Bulls outscored the Spurs in three quarters of the game.

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San Antonio unleashed a 37-point scoring onslaught while only allowing the Bulls 12 points in the third quarter, which won the game for the Spurs. Parker scored 21 points and led the game with seven assists while Tim Duncan dropped 16 points and grabbed a season high 18 rebounds.

In the third game, Dirk Nowitzki scored 36 points for the Dallas Mavericks (12-4), but the Bulls got the win 88-83 because their defense over powered the high scoring Maverick offense.

The Los Angeles Lakers (13-4) bench beat the Bulls on the fourth game of the road trip as Shannon Brown scored 18 points in the first half off 4-of-5 shooting from the three-point line, then Steve Blake and Matt Barnes hit clutch threes in the fourth quarter to open the game up for the victory. The Lakers bench scored 39 points compared to the Bulls 10 points from the bench to win the game 98-91.

In the most thrilling game of the road trip, the Bulls beat the 8-9 Phoenix Suns 123-115 in double overtime. I can’t even lie about this one, the game was on my computer and the Bulls were down by 15 points in the third quarter. Instead of watching the rest of the game, I turned on a different game and played NBA2K11, thinking the game was over. My friend text me and asked if I was watching it because the Bulls forced overtime. I’ll never lose faith again.

Chicago defeated the 10-6 Denver Nuggets Nov. 8, 94-92, giving Carmelo Anthony fuel to lead his team to a 98-97 victory the second time around when the Bulls came to their place. Melo scored 22 points for the Nuggets including the game winning jumper.

Saturday, the Bulls finished the road trip by defeating the 4-11 Sacramento Kings, 96-85. Not much to speak about here, the Bulls dominated the game, including Rose breaking Tyreke Evans ankles more than once.

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As you can tell, there was a trend, win one-lose one, which might make you think, okay, that’s not impressive. But, it is, when you’re talking about games against three of the six best teams in the league in the Spurs, Lakers and Mavericks, plus the Nuggets, who are in the top eight in the Western Conference.

The Western Conference has seven teams with 10 or more wins, while the Eastern Conference has three: Magic, Celtics and Hawks.

Chicago has made a gigantic stride towards the top of the conference and with similar play as this road trip against the Western Conference, they will be approaching the top of the entire league.

The Pacers tore it up, but unfortunately, I thought the game would go the other way for the Nuggets because no one would ever think the Pacers would shoot as good as they did. Mike Dunleavy had 24 points in the third quarter alone and finished with 31 points for the night.

Lets see how the rest of the night went around the League.

TUESDAY’S PICKS (4-3)

Indiana Pacers beat Denver Nuggets 144-113…Wrong, Nuggets could match the firepower of Indiana.

Cleveland Cavaliers beat New Jersey Nets 93-91…Right, Cavs are not a good team, but they’re one of the best of the bad teams.

Utah Jazz beat Miami Heat 116-114 in overtime…Wrong, Paul Millsap put up the most points in the NBA Tuesday with 46 because the Heat don’t have an inside defensive stopper.

New Orleans Hornets beat Los Angeles Clippers 101-82…Right, Hornets are 7-0 for the season and have beaten the Clippers 14 consecutive times.

Milwaukee Bucks beat New York Knicks 107-80…Wrong, Sorry I underestimated the Bucks, they put it on the Knicks, who have been shooting the ball well.

Portland Trailblazers beat Detroit Pistons 100-78…Right, Detroit simply over matched.

Los Angeles Lakers beat Minnesota Timberwolves 99-94…Right, the Lakers played some of their worst ball of the season and still won to either show the strength of the Lakers or how bad the Timberwolves are. LA is undefeated at 8-0.

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WEDNESDAY GAMES AND PICKS

Milwaukee Bucks at Atlanta Hawks…Hawks, although the Bucks played well Tuesday, they played the no defense Knicks, the Hawks are on a way higher level.

Utah Jazz at Orlando Magic…Magic, Paul Millsap isn’t going to score 46 points against Dwight Howard and the Magic defense.

Houston Rockets at Washington Wizards…Rockets, Houston has a better lineup and is playing better ball.

Charlotte Bobcats at Toronto Raptors…Raptors, game could go either way, but Toronto has been playing a little better as of late.

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New Jersey Nets at Cleveland Cavaliers…Cavs, they beat the Nets in New Jersey on Tuesday, no reason they can’t beat them at home.

Golden State Warriors at New York Knicks…Warriors, if the Knicks played like they did Tuesday, anyone can beat them.

Philadelphia 76ers at Oklahoma City Thunder…Thunder, the 76ers don’t have the scoring punch or inside defense to hang with the Thunder.

Dallas Mavericks at Memphis Grizzlies…Mavericks, the Grizzlies won the first meeting, I think Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki want to prove it was a fluke.

Los Angeles Clippers at San Antonio Spurs…Spurs, they’re who we thought they were, a talented team with veteran leadership.

Minnesota Timberwolves at Sacramento Kings…Kings, they’re a solid team while the Timberwolves are struggling horribly.

MAKE YOUR PICKS

1) In the comment box

2) Send an email to brandon.lachance@bullshome.com

First things first, the Jazz are falling apart without Carlos Boozer. Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer might have a little to do with it, but it’s mostly Boozer. As a Bulls fan, I’m excited to see Boozer make the same impact in Chicago, but as a game picking expert (well, I’d like to think that), this is messing me up.

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Utah’s Deron Williams is arguably one of the top three point guards in the NBA while the pickup of Al Jefferson was supposed to replace the void Boozer left in the paint. Sorry coach Jerry Sloan, this hasn’t worked out the first two games of the season. The Jazz got spanked by the Denver Nuggets 110-88 on Tuesday and then got it handed to them by the Suns.

I didn’t get to watch much of either game to state a problem, but one would think the departure of Boozer has something to do with it.

Om another note…

Who didn’t predict Orlando was going to whoop the Wizards? I still think the Magic could win the eastern conference, yeah, even over LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in Miami. The Magic probably have a chip on their shoulder because they have been completely forgotten about because of the media hype in Miami.

Vince Carter will come through this year and get them to the finals, I think.

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Friday October 29 NBA games and picks

Sacramento Kings at New Jersey Nets–I’m a big supporter of Sacramento’s Evans and Cousins, they will match up nicely against Devin Harris and Brook Lopez of the Nets.

Atlanta Hawks at Philadelphia 76ers–The Hawks are too talented for the 76ers, and their best player, Andre Iguodala, doesn’t want to be there.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors–Cavs shocked the world with a win against the Boston Celtics, so they should be able to beat the Raptors.

Indiana Pacers at Charlotte Bobcats–This should be a good game, but at home, I’m going with Charlotte.

New York Knicks at Boston Celtics–Boston is mad they lost to Cleveland and is a great home team, Celtics dominate.

Denver Nuggets at New Orleans Hornets–Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets put a hurting on the Jazz and should be able to do the same against the Hornets.

Oklahoma City Thunder at Detroit Pistons–The Thunder

Orlando Magic at Miami Heat–Best game of the week, I’m going with the Magic, they’re too big in the middle.

Milwaukee Bucks at Minnesota Timberwolves–The Bucks have formed a nice team and should be able to beat the team of players who all play the same two positions.

Memphis Grizzlies at Dallas Mavericks–Dallas’s Dirk Nowitzki is one of the best offensive players in the game against a non-factor defense, Dallas

Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors–Blake Griffin and the Clippers get their first win as they match the fast paced Warriors.

Los Angeles Lakers at Phoenix Suns–Phoenix looked good against Utah but horrible against Portland, round two of horrible against Lakers

It’s preseason, so these games don’t matter much except for building team chemistry and learning the system of new head coach Tom Thibodeau, but it’ll be interesting to see how the Bulls defense matches up against Dirk Nowitzki and the potent Mavericks offense.

Dallas has a lot of scoring options other than the 7 foot German: Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Caron Butler. These are just the players who can score in more ways than one, but they also have slashers and easy bucket guys such as Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood.

While the Bulls big offensive summer pick up, Carlos Boozer is out, Chicago has the main pieces they need to be a solid defensive team in Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose, Ronnie Brewer and Luol Deng.

It will also be nice to see Omer Asik against some bigger stronger centers than he has seen so far.

Omer Asik, the 7’1 center from Turkey, played in the FIBA World Championship as well as Rose. ESPN Chicago writer Fran Fraschilla wrote an article grading some of the NBA’s foreign athletes including Asik.

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Fraschilla started with the bad news, Asik is a horrible free throw shooter. No one thought he would be a 90% free throw marksman such as Steve Nash or Kobe Bryant, but a healthy 70% would have been appreciated. Instead, Asik was a devastating 37% during the World Championship. In other words, he makes Shaquille O’Neal, who shot a career low 42% in the 2006-07 season, look as though he is a free throw specialist.

This will be very important if the Bulls decide to send Joakim Noah in some kind of arrangement to the Denver Nuggets for Carmelo Anthony. Noah isn’t great with a 70% career clip, but this means he will hit seven out of 10, not three or four out of 10. This could cause the next foul phenomenon, the Hack A Sik.

The World Championship scouting trip did come away with some good news for the Bulls as well. Instead of being a European or Eurasian country, he can bang with the big boys in the paint on a regular basis. This is great news since there is not many tall players from the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean who play physical, for example, Houston’s Yao Ming, Dallas’s Dirk Nowitzki, Utah’s Mehmet Okur and Washington’s Yi Jianlian. On the other hand there are exceptions such as, Charlotte’s Borris Diaw, New York’s Ronny Turiaf and Orlando’s Marcin Gortat.

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In a perfect world Asik will be physical like Nene but have the offensive game of Ming. I know, extremely perfect. Since the odds of this happening are slim, the Bulls should be happy with a player who will surrender their bodies for rebounds and offensive position.

Asik is not the caliber player of a Yao Ming and probably will never be. But, he is a quality pick up for the Bulls, who received him in a draft day trade involving three teams in 2008.

Even if he provides little offense, he will be a 7’1 factor in the paint defensively, especially if Noah is gone. Fraschilla also said Asik has the skills to grow into an offensive force, so the door on him being a 20 point and 10 rebound a night guy is not closed.

Also, Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics have come to an agreement on a four year deal worth $61 million.

Neither one of these deals is surprising.  Both have players have played their entire careers with these teams and now will probably never leave.

Pierce and Nowitzki had another year on their contract but had opt out clauses.  They both used it.  By opting out and re-resigning they can install a no trade policy.

Jackson made a guest appearance on The Basketball Jones podcast June 11th.  During his NBA conversation with J.E. Skeets and Tas Melas, Scoop suggested a previously unheard free agency strategy the Bulls should consider.

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Instead of spending all their cash this summer on Bosh, James, Wade, Amare Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitzki or any other player who will want a hefty salary…wait.  Why wait, because next year Carmelo Anthony will be a free agent.  Melo is perfect for the Bulls.

He has played with Chauncey Billups for the last few years, so he can handle playing with a pure point guard.  Actually,  his game has elevated the last few years because of Bullups presence.  With Derrick Rose’s athletic ability and mature skill set for only being in the league for two years, Mello would blossom to yet another level.

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The Bulls hired defensive mastermind Tom Thibodeau to be their head coach.  I think he would love to have a player of Melo’s size and physicality on the defensive end.  He isn’t a great defender, but he gives effort in blocking shots and disrupting the passing lane.

Jackson said the Bulls should get a mid-range salary cap guy and save the money for Mello.  This of course was before they traded Kirk Hinrich to make more room in the budget.

I like the idea.  The only problem I have with it is, next year will be looked at as a wasted season.  They only have four players on the roster for next season , so they have to sign someone.  What are they going to do,  sign an entire roster of one year rookies and veterans?  This isn’t a good idea.

Although, I agree with Scoops idea, I don’t see how next season wouldn’t be looked at as a waste.  Unless, they signed one guy at mid-range price like Carlos Boozer or David Lee, then sign one year deals.  I don’t know,  it seems kind of jello-based.

The Chicago organization and the fans want something metal based and they want it now.  There are plenty of good player available, we should shop now.  The Melo plan should only be used if nothing happens this season.  Still, Melo would have to wait for a deal because the Bulls would probably hire a new general manager first.

[picappgallerysingle id="7613814"]Chicago’s idea is to trade Hinrich and their 17th pick in tonights draft for a couple of expiring contracts or players who would have a one year minimun salary contract.  This way, they would have extra spending money to go after two of the big name free agents instead of one.   The list of big name guys includes: Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire and Joe Johnson. Carlos Boozer, Amare Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and David Lee are also available. 

 Hinrich, a solid back up point guard, has a $9 million contract for next seson.  At this time, the Bulls have $20 million to spend.  If they could unleash Hinrich’s contract they would have around $30 million, which would be enough to sign two of the guys listed above.

This is a good move for the Bulls.  Hinrich has been a good player for the Bulls, but he is an over paid role player.  If the Bulls could get a D-Wade or Chris Bosh on top of getting Lebron,  adios Hinrich.

10 Two Way Tie Between- Rudy Gay and John Salmons

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Salmons was traded away by the Bulls at the February trade deadline in order to dump off contracts.  He went to Milwaukee and helped them earn a six seed in the playoffs.  Before he came they were on the outside looking in.  Rudy Gay is a young talented player with limited leadership skills.  Gay is on the verge of becoming a superstar but needs to play on a team besides the Memphis Grizzlies where he is the main attraction, because he shouldn’t be on any team.  Both players are respectable second options and great role players.

9 Amare Stoudemire

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The Suns power forward has little defense but is absolute dynamite on offense.  He can put up 30 points any night but if he is playing someone else who can score in the post, he can give up 30 points any night as well.

8 Joe Johnson

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He is one of the best shooters in the game now.  He adds instant offense.  The problem is he choked in the playoffs.  His Atlanta Hawks got swept by the Orlando Magic and he put up little fight.  Johnson showed lack of heart, lack of concern to the fans and a lack of being a go to guy.

7 Carlos Boozer

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Boozer is a double-double guy.  He can easily get 10 rebounds and 15-to-20 against anybody.  His defense is average but seems to always be in the right place at the right time for lose balls or blocks.  What he lacks in stats compared to some of the others on the lists, he adds in leadership.

6 Dirk Nowitzki

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Dirk is a great player and possibly the best 7 foot shooter ever to grace the NBA.  Again,  he would add instant scoring and knows how to rebound the ball.  He is in the last stage of his career, I give him five productive years.  Also,  he is a second option, not a number one.  If he became a Bull, he would have to realize his position on the team.

5 Ray Allen

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Allen is the second best three point shooter in history behind Reggie Miller.  He would be great for the Bull’s offense because he never stops running.  The downfall is, he will be 35 by the time next season starts.

4 Dwyane Wade

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He is the second best two guard in the league behind Kobe Bryant.  I love Wade’s game and he brings the most energy to the court out of the ten guys on the court.  He can do everything: score, defend and all the intangibles in the middle.  He moved up the list because of his comments towards the Chicago Bulls.  I don’t think there is any chance he will be a Bull.

3 David Lee-Brad Miller-and a shooter (Kyle Korver, JJ Redick, Mike Miller)

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Lee is a solid power forward.  He can score down low, hit a 15 foot jumper and rebound.  He plays solid help defense and again,  is always around the basket for offensive rebounds.  Brad Miller is old and for the most part washed up, but he has veteran leadership and in his old age still put up 10 points and five rebounds as a third stringer.  The Bulls desperately need a shooter.  Korver, Redick and Miller are the best shooters available.  Chicago should combo the three together to make use of their money.

2 Lebron James

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James is the most athletic player in the league, no doubt about it.  He puts up video game numbers every night and would bring an incredible level of excitement around the United Center.  I will not be mad if James comes to the Bulls, that is for sure, but I think his superstardom could hurt the team.  Derrick Rose is a great point guard all ready and could develop into one of the best to ever play for the Bulls.  I question if the addition of James would hurt Rose’s development and the Chicago Bulls become the Chicago Lebrons.  He is great, but he has never won a championship.

1 Chris Bosh

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From a team perspective, he is the best fit for the Bulls.  We need low post scoring, experience and a second option.   Bosh will give 20-to-22 points a night and could teach Joakiim Noah some post moves.  He isn’t the best defender in the paint, but he is average, enough to get by in the NBA.  His skill set is exactly what the Bulls need.