Bulls' Rose flattered but focused
The timing would have been perfect for a long, relaxed chat between Bulls legend Michael Jordan and rapidly rising star Derrick Rose.
But even though Rose hustled out of the locker room quickly after Saturday's win over Utah, Jordan left the 1991 championship reunion party before Rose arrived.
So the only real meeting between the two happened when Rose was in high school and joined a group that visited Jordan's Highland Park home.
Jordan gave Rose plenty of respect Saturday, though, repeating his belief that Rose is this season's NBA most valuable player.
Jordan also offered a bold prediction during the halftime ceremony, telling fans at the United Center these Bulls could win six more titles.
“That's a lot of pressure. I don't know why he did it,” Rose said with a laugh Monday at the Berto Center. “We're still trying to become a 48-minute team. That's the only thing we're worried about right now, that and Washington. That's the only thing we can worry about.”
Most of the Bulls react the same way. When posed with a question about the rising expectations or future championships, they'll respond with a “Thibs-ism,” one of the often-repeated guidelines of coach Tom Thibodeau.
Becoming a “48-minute team” is one of them. So is “not skipping any steps” and players delivering “multiple efforts.”
Thibodeau did offer appreciation for Jordan's sentiment before sliding into his more familiar messages Monday.
“Michael's meant so much to this organization. I think it's good,” he said. “But again, the thing that's important to us is really what we think.
“We know our approach doesn't change game to game, day to day. If we do that, we'll be fine. When we start looking at other things, listening to other people, that's when you get in trouble. We just have to take care of our own business.”
Of course, Rose made his own bold prediction at the start of training camp, asking why he couldn't be MVP. That one turned out surprisingly well. With 17 games left in the season, he's clearly the front-runner for the award.
So far, Rose hasn't joined Jordan in predicting a second Bulls dynasty. He's comfortable, though, with the Bulls as an emerging championship contender.
“There's no point in us playing this game if we're not trying to be the best or not trying to win it,” Rose said. “I think we can compete with some of the best teams that are out there.”
Veteran forward Carlos Boozer also had no problem with Jordan's six titles comment from Saturday.
“That's great coming out of his mouth and hopefully we can,” Boozer said. “We don't look at it as pressure. I think for us, we're doing every step to get the first one. You can't skip steps. We can't say, ‘Oh, we'll be good 10 years from now.' We want to be good now.”
Thibodeau won a championship as an assistant coach with Boston three years ago. So when their coach sends the constant reminders about not skipping steps, the Bulls know they'll be wise to listen.
“He lets us know that we do have a lot more improvement to make before we can be satisfied, which is great,” Boozer added. “Thibs does a great job of keeping us grounded. We feel we have a long road to climb.”