Holiday special: Rose, Beasley in first NBA meeting
When the NBA schedule was released in early August, the Bulls' first trip to Miami on Dec. 26 jumped out as a game not to miss.
It would be the first official contest pitting the top two picks of the 2008 draft, Bulls guard Derrick Rose and Heat forward Michael Beasley.
There was great debate leading up to the draft over which player was the right choice for the Bulls at No. 1.
At least there was nationally. Around Chicago, Rose, because of his South Side roots, seemed to be the people's choice from the minute the Bulls struck gold at the draft lottery.
Now that the game is here, it's not exactly "Michael Who?" But the great Rose-Beasley debate dissipated quickly. Rose has been better than most expected, prompting few, if any, second guesses.
Beasley, meanwhile, has played second fiddle to Dwyane Wade's well-marketed comeback tour in Miami. Beasley also has experienced typical rookie highs and lows. He's the Heat's second-leading scorer at 13.3 points per game but has played 13, 15 and 18 minutes in the last three contests.
Another factor that seemed to push Beasley into the background is Memphis guard O.J. Mayo emerging as Rose's top competition for rookie of the year. The best rookie performance the Bulls have seen so far this season came from Charlotte point guard D.J. Augustin, who scored 29 points to beat the Bulls last week.
"I'm just going to take that as a regular game, like I've been taking all my games," Rose said. "Me and my crew, we never talked about who should go No. 1 or any of that stuff.
"It really didn't matter at the time of the draft. I'm just going to go in as any other game and be aggressive and attack."
More significant than the rookie duel might be the first meeting of Wade and Rose, Chicago-area natives who have become two of the NBA's most explosive guards. Wade, who attended Richards High School in Oak Lawn, currently leads the league in scoring at 29.0 ppg.
"I've never met (Wade), so this will be my first time," Rose said. "He's a great player. I never patterned my game to be like his because that's too hard and he's such a good player. We are athletic, I'll say that.
"I watched him when he was in college at Marquette. I really liked his game, but I think he surprised everybody when he came in the NBA and was doing the same things he was doing at Marquette."
Rose endured a foul-plagued night of frustration during Tuesday's 104-98 loss in Detroit. He played just less than 21 minutes before fouling out with 10 points and 5 assists. Before that, though, he had a brilliant 24-point performance against Utah and guard Deron Williams.
Rose said he got to know Beasley when they were in New York for the draft but hasn't spoken to the burly 6-foot-8 forward since then. Rose is better friends with Mayo, going back to their days as high-profile high school campers.
"Almost every day (at the draft) we were together, me and (Beasley), O.J. and Jeryd (Bayless)," Rose said. "We were together a lot. (Beasley) was on my team in the McDonald's all-star game. So I knew him before the draft. He is funny."
Vinny Del Negro was hired as Bulls coach about two weeks before the draft. But he was well-versed on the candidates, having spent the previous two years scouting for Phoenix. The Suns owned Atlanta's first-round draft pick last year, so he watched both Rose and Beasley closely.
"In the interview process and the workouts and the dinners and all the things we go through, Michael's a tremendous talent and put up phenomenal college numbers," Del Negro said.
"He can score the basketball, and there are a lot of things that intrigued us about him. But at the end of it, it was kind of unanimous that Derrick was our guy."