Friday, April 8th, 2011 at 9:00 am  |  215 responses

Derrick Rose on Celtics: ‘We Know We Can Beat Them’


by Marcel Mutoni@marcel_mutoni

Despite the gnashing of teeth from the folks who pray at the altar of advanced statistics — the ones trying to convince the world that Dwight Howard is the NBA’s most valuable commodity — the Chicago Bulls’ decisive victory over the Boston Celtics last night, in front of a national TV audience, cemented Derrick Rose as the 2010-’11 MVP.

Rose was his usual spectacular self, scoring 30 points and dishing out 8 assists (while his defense helped turn Rajon Rondo into a non-factor for much of the night.)

Derrick then once again displayed something that can’t be measured through numbers, which coupled with the Bulls’ stifling defense, has turned Chicago into a title contender — a galvanizing, unwaivering belief that the Bulls can beat anyone come Playoff time.

Yes, that includes Boston, a possible Eastern Conference Finals opponent. Yahoo! has the quotes:

Within the Bulls’ locker room, they will privately tell you: The belief changed when the Celtics traded Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. Teammates remembered Rose’s vibe transforming the room, resonating with everyone. They have such great respect for the Celtics and learned so much from losing to them in the playoffs two years ago. The Bulls suspected they had completely closed the gap on Boston, but word of the Perkins trade ran through the room like a live wire on Feb. 24. The Bulls beat Miami that night and they’ve run off 20 of 23 games since the Celtics made the move.

With Perkins gone, everything changed for the Celtics and they knew it: the toughness, the tenacity, the presence in the post. “He was tough,” Rose said. “We could defend on someone that was big. He was really tough to go around. … They’re different.” Different doesn’t mean better. It means diminished. The Bulls beat the Celtics 44-22 in the paint, beat them badly on the boards, too. They assailed the Celtics the way the Celtics used to assail everyone else. “We know we can beat them,” Rose flatly said.

The surging Bulls are on the verge of locking up the top seed in the Eastern Conference, while Boston looks and sounds like a team unsure of itself (unsure of what the very near future holds.)

The postseason is of course an entirely different animal from these regular season battles, and we all know not to count out the Celtics, but it’s become increasingly clear: in the East, all roads to the NBA Finals go through the Windy City.

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  • matt

    @ eboy – not too many ppl could take the 07 cavs team to the finals. It should have been Suns vs Cavs. Nash gets his chip, LBJ maybe gets MVP, SUNs in 7, would’ve been huge for the league, marketing and Canada. Anyways, i don’t think Wade or even Kobe would take that 07 cavs team to the finals. The east was quite weak (except for detroit, my raps had their best season)

  • http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

    Or rocking the slot glasses, with a bright orange and green spandex suit listening to the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams”

  • http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

    Riiiight, because I came of age in the 90’s I couldn’t POSSIBLY know about Kane, Rakim, Kool Moe Dee, Kool G Rap, Run-DMC, BDP, NWA, PE, CMW, LL and all them cats.

  • HAMMER

    Ben Davis shirt, some Nike Cortezes, a pair of Locs, hair slicked backed with Aqua Net hairspray and hair net in a ’64 while bumping 2 some Doo-Wop oldies

  • Fat Lever

    You forgot Crucial Conflict.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    Honestly, I thought Enigmatic would be killing a Menudo CD or some Stevie B.

  • JTaylor21

    Or a polo shirt with the collars up in a argyle sweater and some peg-legged jeans while jamming to Gary Numan’s “Cars”

  • http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

    That’s more your side of the “hemisphere”, E.
    I don’t listen to that tropical Cuban/Puerto Rican sh*t.

  • Fat Lever

    How could you forget Culture Club?

  • sutphin

    Not quite sure what being “compassionate” about a team means, but I can stand when dudes on this site bring up how long somebody’s been posting here. It’s just ghey. Who cares how long u been posting? A lot of the regulars are a**holes anywaa. C_cantrell, whitehoteboy, Jtaylor21, and Jukai are some of the worst reglulars on here.

  • sutphin

    * can’t stand.

  • sutphin

    Now back to ball: DRose said exactly what any real baller would say. He has confidence based off of his experience. They beat the Celtics multiple times already. He wasn’t saying anything outlandish. How can yall bash a dude for that?

  • http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

    Crucial Conflict?
    I’m from the shadow of the Chi.
    I know all about Crucial Conflict.
    And they’re not an 80′s group.
    JTaylor’s killing it.
    Or in a track suit, rocking the shell-toes and failing miserably at trying to break-dance to Run-DMC’s “Sucka MCs”.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    I don’t know, kid…..most Mexicans I know lived for Menudo. It’s ok to be down with MDO.

  • ThaWindy

    When was the last time Shaq was healthy? Im sorry but Shaq will never be healthy enough to make a real difference.

  • http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

    Sorry.
    Only Menudo I was ever down with was the big plate of menudo I used to eat sunday mornings to cure my hangovers.
    Most Mexicans I know lived for Vicente Fernandez and Ramon Ayala.
    That old real sh*t.
    LOL

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    Real old & terrible…..you’re right.

  • bull22

    @sutphin, i agree. i had no clue until today there was a seniority list around here, LOL! i was at my desk dying of laughter…. but cantrell came back more a little civil later, so i showed some consideration, and just got back to basketball… and yeah drose does have his dentriments on this site, but iam not one of them…

  • http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

    Eboy, most Mexicans you know are really Puerto-Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans, Salvadorians, Guatemalans, Ecuadorians, etc. who just got tired of having to correct you every time you called them “Mexican”.
    LOL ain’t no Mexicans in Miami…

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    You’re not accurate or aren’t a real Mexican. I’m teetering on the later.

  • http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

    Eboy are you questioning my Mexican-ness?
    Word?
    Damn, all that’s left is for HAMMER to call me a Tío Tomás, Jalen style.

  • jimmer

    Who cares about who’s a mexican? Stop being so American. Aren’t we talking about DRose’s character traits or something? Or basketball even?

  • zoom

    Lmao I can actually vouch for what Enigmatic is saying. Most Mexicans I know aren’t really into the same stuff as those of us that are of Puerto Rican, Dominican descent etc. Sometimes I like to piss one of my Mexican homeboys off by playing some reggaeton (even tho I hate that sh*t).

  • JTaylor21

    Or in a aviator leather jacket, red leather pants and with a Seiko Television watch jamming to AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long”

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    Unless you’ve BEEN to South Florida….you have no idea what you’re talking about when it comes to the Latin population here.

  • izzo

    As someone who has seen pictures of a younger Eboy. None of you have been incorrect.

  • HAMMER

    My comments r not showing Enigmatico. But u cool n my book. Prsonally I like Chente, Ramon Ayala and of course Chalino Sanchez

  • http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

    Or in a pair of cordurys, and an Ocean Pacific T-Shirt listening to Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf” while playing ColecoVision.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    They were in black and white, weren’t they izzo…..how could you be certain? Color photography hadn’t been perfected yet.

  • HAMMER

    Oh I hate that reggaeton sh!t. When I was younger tho I was down w/El General and Big Boy. They were aiight

  • jimmer

    …. and so the link was lost, with the mike left in the corner of the room where the most inane people had congregated…

  • http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

    @Eboy – OK, OK so saying there’s no Mexicans in Miami is a bit of a strecth.
    Most people would say there’s no Mexicans in Alaska but…f*ck, here I am!
    But would it be fair to say they are vastly outnumbered by Latinos of other countries?
    @HAMMER- If I gotta keep it REALLY real…Jose Alfredo Jimenez is the GOAT.
    But I’m bias cause I’m originally from Guanajuato.

  • http://shinefluid@aol.com just bcuz

    i love how EBOY makes a statement and everyone goes wild. sometimes i think dude says thing just because he knows he can ruffle your feathers. The truth however is that he is envious and bitter. im sure he really believed the heat would be in the bulls position at the beginning of the season. furthermore, im certain he believed wade/lebron would have won a MVP. Beyond that i guarnatee you he thought boston was miami only compeition coming out the east this year. shocked ths sh*t outta him to see the bulls. i dont blame em

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    Uhm…I don’t live in the city of Miami. I live about 20 miles north. In the surrounding areas near me….Mexicans (and Haitians) make up the large majority of the populace. Miami is almost entirely Cuban and Puerto Rican….but as you move north of Miami, the other Latin races make their presence known…..none moreso than Mexicans.

  • takashi

    @ Enigmatic and HAMMER
    you guys forgot about Los tigres del norte lol

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    Uhm….just bcuz (I can’t even keep up with this new degenerates) I could really give a f*ck who the Heat play in the postseason. You know why? ‘Cause their top two players are better than any other teams top two guys and to be honest, they have another gear they haven’t played yet. The bulls are playing at their peak (which currently is fantastic) and the Celtics appear to have lost that aura of invincibility. The two best wing players in the league will have the final say so in the Eastern Conference. That’s been my belief from the beginning of the season. If they fail….then they need to rethink the roster….but that’s some sh*t for next year. We’ll find out soon enough.

  • takashi

    @ Eboy
    in homestead is where most of the mexican population reside

  • http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

    Fair enough, E.
    I still contend that I find it hard to believe that the vast majority of Mexicans you know are/were Menudo fans, because they tend to prefer listening to strictly Mexican music.
    Then again, when I was younger…I liked La Sonora Dinamita and Celia Cruz.

  • jimmer

    @just bcuz – you won’t get a response because you aren’t talking about mexicans but you are absolutely right. Miami have been worse than a disappointment; they are a bad basketball team. Drose is now the topic of conversation – and he actually earned that! He earned recognition, whether good or bad, rather than telling people to look at him! wow, go figure.

  • takashi

    @ Eboy
    most of the mexican population reside in homestead

  • http://www.slamonline.com nbk

    well said the same thing about Boston at the end of the regular season last year. All of us

  • HAMMER

    Personally the late Antonio Aguilar is the GOAT. Nuthin wrong with Pepe Jimenez tho

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    Learn about Lake Worth, takashi.

  • JTaylor21

    Or in a sleeveless shirt, tight stone-washed jeans, crocodile dundee hat, drinking a shasta soda while jamming to A-ha’s “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.”

  • http://slamoonline.com zoom

    RIP Celia Cruz. One of the GOATS of any genre

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    I’m thouroghly convinced that jtaylor is a ghey, white male. Only ghey males would make the references he is. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s fantastically accepted and makes alot of sense after reading several months of his comments. LMAO!

  • HAMMER

    “AZUCAR”

  • jimmer

    @eboy if you really COULD give a f*ck who miami play, who would you give it to? and why are you so worried about who they play? Me personally, I couldn’t give a f*ck.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    2 things…i hate you new bulls fans…I’m new to this site and i don’t constantly ride my favorite teams nuts…my god. where were you assholes in 09 or even late “10? oh.. and second rose carries a massive offensive load for the bulls. If we’ve learned anything from lbj’s cleaveland teams it’s that’s a red flag. i don’t think he can do that consistently in the playoffs..where teams will gameplan better and defend better..and if he fails his team does to.

  • http://nobulljive.com Enigmatic

    Or in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt, a pair of Zubas black and white zebra pants, and neon green nylon hat listening to Devo’s “Whip It!” while bouncing on a pogo ball.

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