I could very well devote this blog post to my Lakers, as they won in a dominating fashion over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday afternoon to take 1-0 lead with Game 2 tonight, and a chance to take a 2-0 lead. But that would be too easy, and limiting myself in this blog. Instead, I would like to talk about a player who has become a favorite of mine in the NBA.
On Saturday afternoon, at approximately 12:30 pm Pacific time, the Chicago Bulls led the Philadelphia 76ers by 12 points in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference 1st round series, with only 1:20 between them and a 1-0 lead. At that moment, Derrick Rose, the Bulls' star point guard and reigning MVP, landed awkwardly and was grabbing his knee on the floor. I tell you, I have never seen an entire arena or stadium fall silent that quickly. It was as if the Chicago crowd knew what had happened. Derrick had been hit by a number of injuries this season, causing him to miss 27 games, nearly half the season, so this was nothing new. However, the more time Derrick spent on the ground, clutching his knee, fans in Chicago and watching on TV around the country knew this was something serious.
The reactions of Bulls fans on Twitter was one of sadness and frustration, as I found out in Twitter conversations with a few Chicago people I follow, Iggy, Keith, and Kate, ( @windycityiggy, @KeeterJ, and @krechy85 follow them, they're good people ) about what had just happened. They still had faith in their beloved Bulls, but feared the worst for Derrick. Sure enough, a few hours later, it became official. Derrick Rose was done for the playoffs due to an ACL injury and required surgery. A number of people who had seen the game, myself being one of them, second-guessed Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau for leaving Derrick on the floor with that big a lead and with that little amount of time remaining. I wondered why he had done that.
The next night, after watching my Lakers beat the Nuggets earlier in the afternoon, I settled down in front of my TV to watch the Memphis Grizzlies take on the LA Clippers in Game 1 of their series. This series was particularly interesting to me because of the two teams' contrast in styles, the Grizzlies' physical defense vs. the Clippers' fast transition offense. At the end of the 3rd quarter, the Grizzlies settled into a 21 point lead and had led by as much as 27. With just over 9 minutes to go in the 4th quarter and the game, the Grizzlies led by 24 points, 95-71. Me, and just about everyone else watching the game, thought it was over. Then came the Clippers. Over the next 9 minutes, the Clippers would outscore the Grizzlies 28-3 and would shock everyone by winning 99-98 after Rudy Gay's game winning attempt fell short in one of the most epic collapses in NBA playoff history. At that moment, it suddenly hit me. That's why Tom Thibodeau kept Derrick Rose in with a 12 point lead with just over a minute to go. He was just following that old rule: NO lead is ever safe.
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