After 12 years, Bulls have an all-star in Rose
During his first time through an NBA preseason, it became obvious that Derrick Rose was a special player.
He showed flashes of brilliance during last year's playoff series against Boston, scoring 36 points in his postseason debut.
Now in the past few weeks the Bulls have seen just how lucky they were to win the 2008 draft lottery and select the homegrown point guard with the No. 1 pick.
While leading the Bulls to 4 straight road victories over Western Conference playoff contenders, Rose averaged 26.3 points and shot an eye-popping 59.3 percent from the field.
Granted, they didn't play the Lakers or Denver this week. But Rose is demonstrating in his second pro season, at 21, that he is a difference-maker. The Bulls are 12-5 since Dec. 26 and an almost shocking 4-2 on the current "ice show" road trip.
So the timing couldn't be better for Rose to make the all-star team. He was voted by coaches as an Eastern Conference reserve, becoming the Bulls' first representative in the game since Michael Jordan in 1998.
"I'm just in awe right now," Rose said in a conference call with reporters. "You just dream about it almost every day in college, hoping that you get to the league."
Rose will be busy at all-star weekend. He's expected to play in the rookie-sophomore game on Friday, defend his title in the skills challenge on Saturday, then suit up for the main event on Sunday, Feb. 14 at Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
"This is not a one-time deal," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "I know how hard he works and how coachable he is. Derrick's like a sponge. He's about the right stuff; he's about winning.
"If that means he has to score 30 points to help us win, he'll score 30. If that means he has to score 10 and we win, that's fine with him."
Rose and the Bulls were in New Orleans on Thursday, hoping to stretch their road winning streak to five against the Hornets on Friday. The former high school star at Simeon was relaxing in his hotel room when he first got the word.
Asked how he has turned his game up a few notches, Rose shared the credit.
"It's just through my teammates," he said. "They believe in me and I believe in them. It's a trust thing. They give me confidence on the court.
"If I come down and shoot shots, they're all for it. If I'm off, they're not mad or anything. Our thing is winning, no matter who's shooting the ball or who's doing whatever. We're just trying to win games."
The other East reserves are Toronto's Chris Bosh, Charlotte's Gerald Wallace, Joe Johnson and Al Horford from Atlanta, along with Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce from Boston.
The East starters are Cleveland's LeBron James, Miami's Dwyane Wade, Boston's Kevin Garnett, Orlando's Dwight Howard and Philadelphia's Allen Iverson.
Overall this season Rose is averaging 19.8 points and 5.9 assists and is shooting 47.7 percent from the field. He's putting up impressive statistics even after getting off to a slow start this season, missing most of training camp with an ankle injury.
Asked if he thought this was possible a month ago, Rose answered, "No. That was my first serious injury. I didn't know how long it was going to take me to really get back to my usual way of playing. But I kept getting treatment, stayed off it a little bit, and it just went away."
This year's All-Star Game is expected to be an unprecedented event for the NBA since it's being held at the massive, state-of-the-art Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
"Vinny said there have been 85,000 tickets sold already," Rose said. "The regular arena holds 18,000 to 20,000. So this is going to be way bigger than that. I'm happy to be a part of it."
<p class="factboxheadblack">Bulls game day</p> <p class="News">Bulls vs. New Orleans Hornets at New Orleans Arena, 7 p.m.</p> <p class="News"><b>TV:</b> Comcast SportsNet</p> <p class="News"><b>Radio: </b>WMVP 1000-AM</p> <p class="News"><b>Update:</b> The Bulls' 96-85 victory over New Orleans on Dec. 26 at the United Center was quite a turning point. Tyrus Thomas returned from seven weeks off with a broken left arm, Kirk Hinrich and Taj Gibson joined the starting lineup, and the Bulls have gone 12-5 since that date. The Bulls took advantage of the Hornets' lack of size, with Thomas scoring 21 points, while Joakim Noah finished with 18 rebounds and 17 points. The Hornets (25-20) still rely primarily on PG Chris Paul, who averages 20.5 points and 11.1 assists, along with PF David West (17.7 ppg). New Orleans has won 12 of its last 16 and owns one of the league's best home records at 16-4.</p> <p class="News"><b>Next:</b> Tuesday vs. Los Angeles Clippers at the United Center, 7 p.m.</p>