Killer Instinct: From Rory McIlroy and LeBron James to Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan

While I only have two sports in my wheelhouse (baseball and football), with the U.S. Open about to get underway and the NBA Finals recently completed, I decided I would step outside my comfort zone and discuss things I normally do not talk about. I do not claim to know the first thing about golf or know a whole lot about basketball, but I think I am pretty confident to discuss the psychology of athletes.

In a recent press conference, McIlroy spoke up and defended LeBron James. As a fellow athlete who has also gotten criticized in recent years for coming up short when he needed to the most McIlroy said this:

I think he’s been unfairly scrutinized. Everyone is going to have bad days – if it’s on the golf course or on a basketball court. And with sports these days everything is overanalyzed: stats here, stats there, how has your team combined points in the last quarter of the Finals or whatever. It’s just one of those things.

There is a lot of truth in that. ESPN (who is the main and really sole sports hype machine in America) did all that they could to talk about King James and beat that into the ground. They lead with him every night on SportsCenter, they have the "Heat Index" on ESPN.com, and they were the vehicle for The Decision and thought it was a good idea.

However, it was what the young 22-year-old golfer said next that really took me aback. He said:

If people keep talking about having a bad last quarter all the time it’s going to get to you

If you listened to the way Rory said that comment too you could tell he was talking about himself as well as LeBron. It was just weird yet refreshing to hear an athlete say that these self-fulfilling prophecies these "analysts" talk about will come true. If people keep saying you are not clutch then you start to believe it and then it turn not become clutch.

We all know about LeBron's faults for not coming up in the fourth quarter during the 2011 NBA Finals but many of you may not know about Rory McIlroy's (to be honest I do not know a whole lot either) faults. At this years Masters (the one in which you get the stylish Green Jacket) McIlroy was destroying the competition for three days. Going into the fourth and final day McIlroy was leading everyone by four strokes and was 12 under par. He ended up finishing the Masters tied for 15th place and only four under par. It was called one of the epic collapses in sports. This was not the first time McIlroy was up late in the tournament, was the favorite to win it all and lost.

That Masters weekend I got my entire sports trivia from SportsCenter (see, I told you they are the hype machine) and all anyone was talking about before that Sunday was just how good the (then) 21-year-old was and how he was the next Tiger Woods. Then came Sunday night's SportsCenter along with coverage of the collapse and I thought to myself:

I don't think that kid has the killer instinct the greats do to win.

And I still believe that today.

It is no secret that people play different when they are ahead than when they are behind. People play differently when people are watching them than when people are not. And people play differently when they need to the most and some people fold like a house of cards in the clutch.

Me personally, I'm a folder. That's probably why I blog about sports instead of play them. I can play an easy song on Guitar Hero and start to play it perfectly but then about two thirds of the way into the song I miss an easy note and perfection is ruined. The same holds true when I play Wii Sports. I can bowl the shit out of that game when I'm just chilling alone but when other people are watching and counting on me I just can't do it. I start to get into my own head. I start to over analyze everything. I start to tense up and forgot all the practice I learned. That's just the person I am.

I think this is also the type of person and athletes that Rory McIlroy and LeBron James are. I think they have great talent and I think in all situations beside the clutch they are fantastic and better than everyone out there. But when it's the bottom of the ninth in Game 7, two outs, a runner on third, and their team is down by one, they strike out and fail to hit the home like they would have done in this exact same scenario five innings earlier. Most athletes want the rock. I don't think these athletes do.

This killer instinct is what made Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan so good and probably the best athletes to play their respective sports. There are many players that are/ were above average to great, but what made guys like Michael and Tiger super elite was their ability to be clutch and that drive inside them to put everyone on their back and rise to the occasion.

I am actually not going to fault Rory and LeBron (OK, maybe LeBrown because I still dislike him and want to see him fail just like every other sports fan in America) for coming up short. I think that's who these guys are and that is just what they will be. I think that needs to be the expectation for these fellows. I don't fault Donovan McNabb for coming up short in all those NFC Championship games/ Superbowl 34, I credit him for getting that far. I think unfair expectations has been set on these players and I think we need to temper those expectations.

I don't expect Rory McIlroy to win the U.S. Open. But what I do expect is for him to get a top ten or top five finish. That's I think that is what he is and that I what we should realistically expect from him.

The Antonio Cromartie Of Alley-Oops

The NBA court is 94 feet long. So lets call this a 90 foot bomb. Eat your heart out Tom Brady, theres a new playa in town

Michelle Beadle Lebron Parody

The Decision: Cause I Love Myself That Freaking Much

Rumors have been rampant throughout the entire summer as to the future of Game of Inches superstar and blog-o-sphere 2 time MVP "The 'Bright' One". Speculation from sources close to the situation have leaked rumors trying to predict where TBO will take his talents and girts at the end of the summer. You have been stressing and analyzing all the details and possible scenarios, but the time has come to make a final decision, straight from the horses mouth TBO himself.

The latest buzz has confirmed that the decision has come down to 3, count that 1-2-3, destinations that will be lucky, fortunate, grateful enough to welcome TBO and hand him the key to their city. TMZ has provided footage showing picture evidence proving that TBO had spent the last week in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico negotiating a 5 year lease in the Presidential Suite with the Riu Palace to live out his prime career years on the sandy beaches of Mexico. Either that, or he spent the week laying poolside, sipping on Dos Equis XX, whooing the European hotties.

However, the trip was cut short from his usual 2-3 week holiday stay, and TBO has returned to his home town of Chicago, Illinois. May this be an indication that talks fell through, or is this the final O.J. Simpson knife in the back of his loyal Chicago readers. It is well known that TBO is the predominant voice of the Chicago sports scene. His family and life long friends reside in the city that has raised him, educated him, and made him into The 'Bright' One. Here he has loved and lost, does he dare ripe the heart out of The 'Windy' City.

A dark horse candidate has arisen from the endless list of suitors, Miami School of Medicine has reached out to TBO and offered him a luxurious package he may not be able to refuse. If you recall, TBO flirted with UMiami in the summer of 2008, when he visited and was accepted to the the medical school. Of course, loyalty took over before he settled on UIC for the next 4 years of his life. Or at least that's what we thought. After a very successful first year of medical school, except for anatomy, F%*# You anatomy, TBO can exercise an opt out clause and take his talents back to South Beach where TBO has spent every summer of the last 10 years. Although it seems too good to be true, it has the city of Chicago reaching for their brown paper bags before hyperventilating to death.

To get the final answer, TBO has selected his special guest Bill Simmons to live chat with him on the Game of Inches blog.

BS: Ohhhhhhhhhh Johnnnnnyyy, oops wait, ohhhhhh TBO!
TBO: Big day, big decision, big nerves, big excitement. Did I mention I'm a big deal?

BS: What was the ultimate deciding factor in your final decision?
TBO: To me it came down to 2 things. Winning at life and being happy doing it. I just gotta think about me and that's what I did. You know what that's all about Bill

BS: Can you describe your interactions and what you learned from all of your meetings?
TBO: What can i say? I just feel so blessed and humbled for being made so great, everyone telling me i'm great, and getting compensated for being great. I had many sleepless nights debating where I should go. Each city has so much to offer. Chicago is where i was bread into my greatness. I have a place in the city for school. I have my parents basement where my grandma cooks and cleans for me. It may not be glamorous, but it's home. And there's no place like home.

On the other hand, Mexico offers the lavish lifestyle of relaxing on the beach, with topless babes a plenty. The schools may not be up to American standards, but you will see all sorts of tropical infections and diseases that you may not find in the states.

Miami has always been near and dear to my heart, such that I strongly considered moving to South Beach in 2008. I was willing to pay the higher out of state tuition for the glamor of Miami school of medicine. I would get to work with some of the finest physicians in the country, who have already won awards individually, and train to become the greatest Cardiologist the world has ever seen. For me, I've already proven myself individually, now it's time to work as a team and bring home the ultimate prize. Being in Miami, The 'Bright' One can share the city with The 'Chosen' One. Has a nice ring to it...huh

BS: The time has come. Will you reveal where you will be taking your talents?
TBO: Man this is tough, but this fall I will be taking my talents back home to Sweat Home Chicago (applause ahhh ahhh wooh wooh). See unlike one Lebron James, I'm not a traitor to my home town. I feel Chicago is part of who I am, and who I want to be in the future. I have made my mistakes, let down people in the past, but want to grow and get better for the future. I want to use my medical skills and knowledge to help my fellow people in need. I have my family, my friends, my sports, and my school. Everything else is gravy

Like Jim Rome, I am OUT!

Sexy Rexy's Sports Gripes: LeBron Edition

Yes, I realize I'm late giving all you lucky fans MY two cents on quote The Decision endquote. Yes, my "''" buttons work fine. Stupid interns, can't find good help these days. Even though no one has a job. Yet I digress. I was going to do a podcast about this as soon as I sat through an excruciating 15 minutes of Stuart Scott and Jon Berry's opinion and another excruciating 15 minutes while LBJ babbles on and on about quote what a tough decision this has been endquote. Damn it Johnny, stop taking everything I say so literal. Stop writing what I'm saying! Stop that. qwefqewnfbqwejfbqdvbcqwjvqewcbqwd,ncb

Sorry about that folks, I had to fire Johnny and he wouldn't relinquish the computer. So now it's all me. Despite you having enough time to formulate your own opinion about LeBron and even though you heard EVERYBODY at ESPN and your local sports talk radio tell you their opinion, here's mine:

- Everyone except the five Heat season ticket holders and Pat Riley is pissed at LeBron for some reason or another. I am no different. Except the only reason I hate him is because he didn't choose Chicago. I'm not even a big basketball fan by any stretch of the imagination but I was wishing upon airplanes in the night sky that they were shooting stars so I could wish that LeBron would choose Chicago considering everyone in the media for two straight months told me he was coming to Chicago. I would have actually watched basketball/ follow NBA box scores if LeBron came to Chicago.

- Also, I hate LeBron because when the interviewer FINALLY came around to asking LeBron where he was going, LBJ's response was "South Beach". When the interviewer then said "you mean Miami; you're going to the Miami Heat?", LeBron just starred at him blankly. Really fucknuts!? You couldn't just say "Miami Heat" or at least reiterated after you were asked that you're going to the Miami Heat!? Or say "the Heat". Or at least the namesake city of the team you're going to play for? Even a 24 year old could have thought of that.

- By the way, if you think about it, WISHING airplanes were shooting stars just so you can then go ahead and MAKE A WISH is pretty fucking retarded. Think about it.

- I have absolutely no inherent/ objective reason to hate LeBron's actual team choice. All I heard in the off season is that LeBron needs to go to a place where he can win. Well, I think LeBron can win with DeWayne Wade, Chris Bosh, myself, and The 'Bright' One playing center. I'm pretty sure LeBron choose a place where he could win multiple championships, like every critic said he needed to do. But because he'll win with other superstars it was a bad decision? What!?

- This "LeBron doesn't want to be the man" nonsense is getting way too out of hand. When people are comparing King James to Michael or Kobe, are they forgetting the other four players that were on the court with these players? Did people forget that Kobe was The Man in L.A. for a long time post-Shaq and pre-Gasol and it got him nowhere? Did people forget the reason Boston won a Championship recently and just went to the Finals was because of what the media dubbed "The Big Three". And do people forget that Michael Jordan had a top 50, probably a top 35, best basketball player of all time during his six rings. A little man by the name of Scottie Pippen. And three of Jordan's rings came with Pippen along with a great player who also has won many rings prior; a guy by the name of Dennis Rodman. Ever heard of him? No really, have you? Can you please tell me who he is?

- Along the same line, LeBron did not hurt his global image. He's still going to be a sponsor for Nike and Vitamin Water and what have you and still sell shit all over the world AND have multiple rings to go along with the millions upon billion of dollars that he's going to make. And then he's going to sleep with 20 different women, a few in each city he plays on the road (the one hot girl in Charlotte, keep your legs warm!) and then get caught in a huge scandal that will actually hurt his image and he'll end up paying one of the girls a few BILLION dollars. This type of scandal will be unprecedented and will never happen before or after LBJ did it.

- Everyone who is criticizing James for "how he handled 'The Decision'" and the press conference are just jealous haters who wish he came to their city and team. The only "bad" part of the interview was that ESPN, the lying douchebags that they are, told us that The Decision would be at 8:00 and when 10:15 finally rolled around and everyone at ESPN gave their own dumb ass opinion (mine is clearly the only one that matters!)along with a really boring interview, then did we all hear where exactly LeBron was going- even though ESPN told us all day LBJ was going to Miami anyway.

- LeBron owes Cleveland nothing but an apology that he was a little bitch in the playoffs and even though the Cavs were the best team in the East for like five straight years, James could only go to the Finals once and win no titles. He didn't have to go play for Cleveland just because they drafted him and just because he's from the area. Let the man, aka little bitch, play wherever he wants to.

- The only bigger little bitch in this entire saga is Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. We're all pissed LBJ didn't came to our team but we all don't take out editorials in the paper and whine and complain about it and throw a temper tantrum like a three year old. We instead act like adults and bitch and moan about it on an independent sports blog mainly related to baseball and football that no one reads.

As Porky Pig would say Th-th-th-that's All, Folks!

Marketing Campaign aimed to Land Lebron James

I heard that the Chicago Bulls had a four day ad campaign targeting Lebron James from last Monday June 28th through this past Thursday July 1st when free agency officially started. I am surprised that here in Chicago I heard nothing about this at all while it was going on. I heard rumblings of this on Saturday, but didn’t hear anything about all four segments (across the four days) until today.

This four day campaign was paid for by the Leo Burnett agency which is based in Chicago. Each day the ads gave Lebron James a different challenge. This Ad campaign seemed to be aimed at debunking the notion that Lebron shouldn’t come to Chicago because he would be in Michael Jordan’s shadow and compared to Jordan. Well, Lebron James is already compared to Michael Jordan and would be anywhere he goes. Thus, instead of trying to promote the many great reasons why Lebron should come to Chicago, they just aimed at getting across this one message.

I first heard about this Ad campaign on the radio, but I had trouble finding more information about it and pictures. So I included pictures of each Ad, which I thought was really well done. Here is the break down by day:

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Sources:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Chicago-is-daring-LeBron-James-to-play-for-the-B?urn=nba,253378

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-07-01/sports/ct-talk-lebron-james-pitch-0702-20100701_1_leo-burnett-air-jordans-chicago-cityscape

http://www.wgntv.com/entertainment/viral/wgntv-we-dare-you-july1,0,2025152.story

Lamest party ever...not thrown by jewish white kids

Note to world: Lebron is better than Kobe

Lebron leads Kobe career wise in points, rebounds, assists, field goal percentage, free throw attempts, steals, blocks, and PER efficiency.

Kobe leads Lebron in free throw percentage, championships, rape allegations

Give Lebron 20 years in the NBA and he will have every record that ever existed

LeBron James Eating A French Fry During A Game

LeBron James does three things in this play. First he steals the ball, then he scores, and he finishes it by eating a fry from a fan! Make sure you pay special attention to that after the play ends!

Does Vinny Get Fired Before, After, Or On Christmas?

Let's just be frank, Vinny Del Negro is getting canned sooner or later. There is no way Lebron, Wade, Bosh, or even Kwame Brown will want to sign with the Bulls next off-season if Vinny is running the show. 1ust like every other non-football sport, the coach doesnt do jack squate in the NBA. Just look at Doc Rivers, who magically went from coaching the leagues worst record to the champions the very next year. And by magic I mean trading for Garnett and Ray Allen. Or how about Lawrence Frank, who took the Nets to the finals twice with Kidd and Carter. Now he has the distinction of beginning an NBA season loosing 18 straight games with Josh Boone and Trenton Hassell.

I believe Jerry Reinsdorf will open up the vault after the season and finally bring superstars back to the windy city. The problem is that so many teams have money to spend next offseason such that the Bulls organization will have to offer free agents something more enticing than money. Based on the list of free agents and payroll projections on hoops hype, I see several obstacles in the way of our salvation.

1) As many as 15 teams have payroll space next summer to sign one and at least 7 teams who have payroll to sign 2 superstars. The Bulls are by no means the only team that has spent the last 3 years preparing for the upcoming free agent class. The Bulls have 44 million guaranteed for next year assuming they offer Tyrus Thomas the 6 million qualifying offer which I believe they will do. Indications are that the bulls are willing to go up to the 80 million dollar range, just 10 million above this years total, allocating just enough money to sign 2 stud free agents. In the NBA all you need is 2 superstars to make you a contender. You put an all-star shooting guard and forward next to Derrek Rose and you are in the Finals next year.

The biggest competition for the Bulls will be the Miami Heat. They have done the impossible. Assuming Dwayne Wade opts out for free agency, the Heat will only have 8 million dollars guaranteed to Beasley, Cook, and Chalmeres. Meaning they can sign Wade for 25 million and have cap space for 2 more max players. Boozer or Bosh will surely end up in Miami. The Knicks, Clippers, Nets, Pistons, Cavaliers, T-wolves, Thunder, Blazers, and Rockets all potentially have the money to lure away the great free agents.

2. The best thing about being an NBA player, is living the lifestyle of an NBA player. If you thought Tiger Woods had it good, just know that all his skanks are Dwight Howard's sloppy seconds. Who wouldnt want to go to Miami? I basically had my bags packed to go to med school in Miami even though i would never have time to see the sun or Miami beach. Then there is New York. The only thing that separates the Bulls and the Knicks is Derrick Rose. Is that enough to entice Wade to chose Chicago over New York? I'm not so sure. Given the past 10 year post Jordan history, players are not lining up to come to the United Center. Some cities dont even have income tax, something the state of Illinois cannot claim.

3. Some players even want to have a chance to win. Despite the Bulls performance in the playoffs last year against the Celtics, it is difficult to project the current roster as a perennial contender. They have lost 10-11. Have the 3rd worst scoring offense, point differential, and shooting percentage in the NBA. The teams looks as listless as they did in the last weeks of the Scot Skiles era. And most importantly Derrick Rose has yet to make the 2nd year jump that I predicted earlier. Given the quality of his teammates and coaching staff it shouldnt be that big a surprise. Though his medium range jumper should be automatic by now.

The Bulls are required to make some serious organizational changes if they intend on landing any free agents. Regardless if Vinny is or isnt a good coach, his reputation around the league is overly negative. Something has to be done about the United Center. As exciting as it gets during the Blackhawks games, it's as equally dull during the Bulls games. I went to the season opener this season and was actually upgraded to lower level seats because there were so many empty seats. The Bulls need to become cool again and maybe the city can land a Wade or Lebron. A Bosh or a Staudemine. And dont overlook Joe Johnson who is the best passing shooting guard not named Lebron. Believe me, he would be worth the money.

Lebron James and Noah Have Words

Friday night at the Bulls game Lebron James was at the free throw line shooting foul shots. All of a sudden he started exchanging words with Joakim Noah on the Bulls bench. Then James just started walking over to the Bulls bench and many players/coaches started breaking it up. The announcer’s in the clip below blame the Bulls bench and coaching staff for not containing Noah. Why are they getting on Noah and not Lebron because he was the one who started walking over to Noah?




What was the fight about? I wonder if Noah was getting on Lebron for his dancing during the game?

Lebron James Having A Dance Party?

At the Bulls game Friday night Lebron James had a tryout for Dancing with the Stars during the game!

LeBron James Nominated For Documentary

I guess Lebron James made a documentary
that followed him and four of his highschool friends on their journey in Basketball. I never heard of this movie until today because “More Than A Game" was nominated as best documentary for the Spirit Awards. The Spirit Awards honor independent films.

Andy Roddick is underacheiving? You cannot be serious

Andy Roddick got kicked out of the US open with a 3rd round loss to the immortal John Isner. After a short rebirth at Wimbledon, taking Fed to 5 sets and beyond before finally going down in defeat. People had large expectations going into the US Open, the only major that Roddick has won back in 2003. Well dude did what he always does. Act like a baby, turn his cap backwards crooked, and bail out of a grand slam in the early rounds.

His fellow countrymen James Blake and Sam Querrey also got knocked out today(Blake is down 2 sets to none so i'll go out on a limb and say he's out). It would be fine for Roddick and all Americans to suck at tennis, expect for the huge press that follows them and artificially hypes them as the next great thing. Have anyone accomplished less for the notoriety they have received than Roddick. Dude is like 1-19 against Federer all-time. Not exactly the next Sampras, Aggasi, or Mcenroe. Marat Safin has 2 grandslams; as does Jevgeni Kafelnikov. Russians are better at tennis despite playing drunk half the time.

How about we all get off the Andy Roddick bandwaggon and wait until Lebron picks up a tennis racquet.

TMZ gets owned by Ebaumnation

Not only did one video of the infamous LeBron getting posterized video appear today but two separate videos have been leaked by TMZ and Ebaumnation. TMZ was receiving all the hype and glory for buying the only footage out there. However their video was clearly shot with a 0.5 megapixel video recorded with no zoom feature. To the world's surprise, ebaumnation was secretly holding on to their own video of the dunk with picture perfect video quality and shot right under the basket.

The dunk itself was just alright. It was no Davis over Kirilenko or Carter over Zo, but some college reject slammed it with 2 hands. It was more that LeBron got lazy and was slow to get to the basket. But when you have Nike paying you 100 million you dont have to do shit. What if this happened in a game? Does Nike have the authority to rip footage straight from the NBA. I'm shocked the John Starks over Michael Jordan dunk video still exists.

Anyhoo, given the hype this video had, it ended up being more anticlimactic than 'The Hangover'. Here are the two video. First watch the 1950's underwater TMZ version followed by the Ebaumnation version.

What LeBron Really Thinks Of Anderson Varejao

LeBron James Is the MVP!

I personally don't know why there is any argument about this? I don't quite know a whole lot about basketball- and people who who maybe you can "fix" a few points I make here- but I do know LeBron James deserves to be the MVP.

The thing about about basketball, is that if you're on a bad team, any individual player can look great. Even bad teams can score 70, 80, 90 points a night. Who do you think scores all those points? Antwan Jamison of the Wizards (19-63) was 11th overall in PPG and Kevin Durant (23-59) of the Thunder was 6th. Because above average players on mediocre have no one else really to give the ball to. In order for their team to score points, these players have to be the one to do so. Therefore, you have to really take statistics into perspective.

For example, Dwayne Wade has more PPG and APG than LeBron James (but not by much). But Dwayne Wade's team is much worse. Wade's team had a lot of young guys who have not quite come into their own yet. Which forces Wade to take over his team and do so many things. But when you look at LeBron, it's actually MORE impressive that he can accumulate all these stats considering how good his team around him is. The Cleveland Cavaliers held the NBA's best record by winning 66 games and only losing 16- and only twice at home. The only reason this team was THIS good was because of LeBron James. And really, the definition of the MVP is how good you make your team. Kobe won the MVP last year because he brought the Lakers to be the best team in the NBA and so did Dirk Nowitzki a few years back when the Mavericks won 65+ games.

LeBron can score, rebound, assist, and play defense. He also helps his team play defense seeing as the Cave had the third best defensive team in the league (and a quick sidenote, the Cave were the 4th best offensive team- because of LeBron).

Now don't get me wrong, Kobe, Wade, and even Chris Paul had great years and deserve to :be talked about" for MVP, but this year is LeBron's year. And as someone said on ESPN as I was flipping channels- anyone who didn't vote for LeBron James as the MVP needs to have their vote taken back.

Comparing Rose to LeBron Rookie Years

Us Chicago Bulls fans have seen the immense potential of Derrick Rose lead the Bulls from a lackluster start all the way to the 6th spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Although smaller in size than LeBron James, Rose's athleticism and basketball IQ all point to the fact that he will be a superstar for many years to come. But how does Rose's rookie campaign compare to LeBron, as well as other young successful point guards Chris Paul and Deron Williams?

Truth be told, Rose's season compares favorably with each of the NBA superstars listed above. The most impressive part of Rose's game is his shooting percentage. While most rookies shoot in the low 40% range, Rose has a top shooting percentage for guards at 47.5%. Not to say that Rose is a pure shooter, which he definitely is not, but he has the unique ability to finish in the lane over or through centers. His ability to constantly penetrate the defense is possible the most important quality of any point guard, as it breaks down the defense and allows the player to finish or find the open man.

The assist numbers are very comparable among these particular players, except Chris Paul showed a superior ability to distribute with an 8 assist avegare, while the other players sit in the 6 assist range. Rose's greatest weakness was his ability to distribute the ball to the appropriate player, however, the Bulls recent stretch of 15 home wins in 16 games has been partially a product of Rose's ability to run the fast break and pitch the ball out to shooter like Gordon, Salmons, and Hinrich. Still he has yet to record a double digit assist game this season, but i expect his assist totals to jump into the 8 range much like Paul, Willians, and James had.

A second major complaint I have of Rose this season is his low free throw attempt numbers. He is only averaging 3.0 attempts per game. As i had pointed out in a previous post, nearly every NBA superstar is in the top 30 of free throw attempts per game. If he is able to improve in this essential category, Rose's point per game average can sky rocket from 17 to 22 points per game. This would be concurrent with James(+6.3) Paul(+1.2) Willaims(+5.4).

The biggest jump in production for most NBA players comes in the second year in the league, just look at players like Wade, Roy, and Bosh etc...if you need more verification. I'll go as far as predict that next year Rose will be the first Bulls all-star since the Michael Jordan era. I can't say if the supporting cast will be talented enough for the Bulls to compete for a title, but look out 2010.

Did I mention he's still 20?