Rose lets his game do the talking, depending on the game
ATLANTA — Guard Jeff Teague was asked if Derrick Rose did any trash talking Friday while pouring in a career-high 44 points against the Hawks.
“No, he doesn’t say much on the court,” Teague answered. “I tried to talk to him yesterday and he really didn’t say anything. They called out a play and I asked him what it was. He wouldn’t tell me. He just laughed.”
When pressed on the issue, Rose admitted Saturday that he is an avid trash-talker — when the game is Monopoly. He even confessed to giving it to his mom, Brenda, when playing the board game.
“I talk smack in everything else I do,” he said. “I just don’t do it in basketball. I don’t know why.”
How bad does it get when someone lands on his Marvin Gardens with a hotel?
“It’s jumping around, in people’s face, celebrating,” he said. “People really hate when I call out the number they’re going to roll and they land on me. They think I have trick dice or something. I just love that game.
“I get the houses first, then you get people scared. You’ve got to hide your money, because you don’t want anybody to see how much money you have.”
Rose also talks trash in Ping-Pong. So be warned.
Halfway shut out:Since scoring 34 points in the series opener, Atlanta guard Joe Johnson has been quiet. His 10 points in Friday#146;s Game 3 included none in the second half.Johnson didn#146;t talk to the media Saturday, but coach Larry Drew offered some advice on how Johnson can get himself going.#147;First of all, they#146;re playing him physical. If he#146;s not being double-teamed, they#146;ve climbed up in him,#148; Drew said. #147;You have to show a willingness to give the ball up and trust your teammates.#147;When you#146;re playing against a team that#146;s going to roughhouse you and play you physical, you just have to combat that. A lot of these great players in the league, they face it every single night. The way to combat it is not get frustrated by it. You have to watch film. Draw fouls.#148;Teague on Rose history:Hawks guard Jeff Teague is from Indianapolis and recalled playing against Derrick Rose in AAU tournaments.#147;He was always one of the better players on the floor,#148; Teague said. #147;It hasn#146;t changed. Eighth grade, he was the only guy dunking that was under 6-foot. So I knew there was something special there.#148;Teague used to play with fellow Indianapolis native Eric Gordon, now a shooting guard with the Los Angeles Clippers. Somehow, though, Gordon ended up playing with Rose on the Mean Streets Express team.#147;Eric was on the same AAU team as me at first,#148; Teague said. #147;Then at practice, we had his jersey, No. 23, sitting over there and said, #145;Nobody can wear that one. It#146;s for Eric,#146; He never came. We ended up playing against him (and Rose) in the Final Four of the Big Time (Tournament).#148;Crawford on Watson:Atlanta#146;s Jamal Crawford spent a short time as a teammate of Bulls guard C.J. Watson in Golden State. Watson gave the Bulls a spark on Friday by scoring the first 6 points of the second quarter.Watson, who never reached the postseason in three years with the Warriors, finished with a playoff career-high of 8 points.#147;He#146;s a quiet guy, but he#146;s a fun guy to be around,#148; Crawford said. #147;He was a good teammate.#148;Derrick Rose claimed Watson knows a lot of famous people. Was that the case in Oakland?#147;I#146;m telling you, he has a second life you guys don#146;t know about,#148; Crawford said with a laugh.Pargo plays for title:Jannero Pargo#146;s brother, Jeremy, will be a starting guard in the Euroleague championship game today in Barcelona. Jeremy Pargo#146;s Maccabi Tel Aviv squad will battle Panathinaikos of Greece. Pargo, who played at Robeson High School, had 13 points and 7 assists in the semifinal win over Real Madrid.