Derrick Rose needs a nickname

Now it's safe to say that Derrick Rose is going to be the MVP of the league this year and there's little to no controversy about it. He's the best player on the team with the best record. He's come up clutch in numerous games besides game 1. He contorts his body into odd shapes as he drives to the basket.
Rose is the guy in the city of Chicago right now. Not since maybe Jordan has a player owned this city quite like he has now, but with all that being said, he doesn't have that killer nickname that "Air" Michael "MJ" Jordan "his airness" had.

Sure, he has "D-Rose" but that's so generic and over-used. Moniker nicknames are so lame :C-Webb, K-Love, CP3 (well, that one I like), GP, and I'm sure there are tons and tons more. Well, I want to change that with a nickname challenge. Here's what I have thus far:

1) The Doctor (Dr.) - It's kind of a play on his initials but you don't just call him "Dee Arr". Think of the sports announcers saying "There goes the Doctor, carving up the Pacers' defense" or "The doctor should just put Granger out of his misery and euthanize him." High potential!

2) The Dagger - Sleek. Deadly. Small. Surprising. Comes out of nowhere.

3) Bruce - Just simply because there's not a good Bruce out there. "There's Bruce with the steal and the killer dunk."

4) Houdini – Simply because I have no clue how he drives to the lane and comes out of the masses as he does; and he does it with the basket and the foul.

What do you think? I personally like #1 because I can see the name sticking for years to come, but I'm fine with "the dagger" as well.

Bulls vs. Pacers: Game 2 (Q4)

Well here we are. It's the crucial 4th quarter. Rose has been pretty quiet and the Pacers are without Collison who's still hurt.

11:14 - Kurt Thomas conjured-up his 1964 youthful self and blocked Hansbrough. I'm loving me some Big Sexy!

10:11 - Rose to Brewer for a clean dunk. "Chicago's fiiiinest brew," says King.

8:42 - Rose and Dunleavy traded 3's. Now Korver just committed a dumb offensive foul for his 4th. Do I need to remind Korver of his duties which I stated earlier?

The Bulls have 49 rebounds now and the Pacers have 27. What did I say about the inside presence?

7:37 - There's a kid wearing a red plaid flannel sitting behind Pippen. Just thought you should know.

7:05 - This is the longest they've allowed Pippen to talk uninterrupted.

6:38 - C.J. Watson just threw a chest pass almost directly to Foster. After they play defense every Bull started walking off the court for the ensuing timeout, except for Watson who hustled to bring the ball up the court and proceeded to call-out a play. Punishment fits the crime.

5:33 - Rose gets trapped in the corner and the other four Bulls don't even notice until it's almost too late.

5:16 - Rose with crossover and then drops a tear-drop over Hibbert who fouls him. He hits the free throw and they now have a 79-78 lead.

4:27 - Noah to Boozer underneath for a basket. Things are starting to click a little bit here.

3:55 - "Let me step back and kiss myself" was the response King gave the viewing audience as Rose nailed a jumper. The chants of "M-V-P" are getting louder and louder now. The louder they get the better Rose is. I'm going to test this on myself by installing speakers in my bedroom and playing that chant on repeat.

As good as his performance was in game 1, he's answered with an equal or better showing here.

3:30 - A.J. Price with a monster 3-pointer for Indiana, cutting the Bulls lead to two.

3:10 - The entire offense is running through Rose now. Why aren't the Pacers triple-teaming him? He's the only offense the Bulls have right now. Are Rose and the Bulls eerily similar to Lebron and the Cavs? Are they relying on him too much to the point where it could be devastating later on? The Bulls have a much MUCH better supporting cast than Lebron ever got, but it's at least worth mentioning that the situations are kind of alike. This might be a topic I'll tackle later on.

2:26 - Noah with a clean block that was called a foul. First big oversight of the game so far, otherwise the refs have called a fair game.

2:10 - I sound like a broken record (what's a record?): Rose drives to the lane and scores. 87-83 Bulls.

1:23 - After a couple of Pacer free throws the lead is cut to two.

1:04 - The Asset with a 3 from the corner! Yes!! Now that is how you do it. The kid is plain stealthy.It's only his first 3 of the night but it's a critical hit. Timeout Indiana. 90-85 Bulls.

59.3 - Offensive foul on Hibbert. Good call too. He shoved his elbow straight into Noah's face. Everyone knows you can't hit a lady.

38.9 - Rose (obviously) shoots a jumper which was tipped. Foster got a piece of it before it bounces out of bounds. Four seconds on the shot clock. Do you put two guys on Rose, two on Korver, and the other one cherry-picking for a lay-up at the other end?

23.4 - A.J. Price is fouled on a 3-pointer. Stacey is wearing Rose-colored glasses (uh, thank you) and thinks that it was a phantom call. Price kicked his legs to make it look like a foul but Rose hit his hand to warrant the whistle. He's still M-V-P though, so don't worry.

Haha, now the fans at the United Center are yelling "Pacers suck". You stay class, West Side Chicago.

Timeout is called with the Bulls leading 90-88.

17.5 - Deng is fouled and is going to the line for two free throws. The first one is....good! And the second is....GOOD! Two possession game now. Indiana takes their last timeout.

12.6 - Psycho-T with a long 3-point attempt that is short. Brewer with the rebound and is fouled immediately. He hits both free throws to go up by six now.

1.7 - Dunleavy is credited with a basket. Bulls have a four point lead with less than two seconds left, please don't foul.

.9 - The Pacers obviously foul. Why do teams do this? I've seen some crazy things but scoring four points when you don't even have the ball isn't one of them.

0.00 - Rose steps to the line and nails two more points. Bulls win by six, 96-90.

Rose finishes with 36 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. He is incredible. Boozer had a quiet 17 points and a manly 16 rebounds. The Pacers starters score 47 points and their bench scores 43. While they got great production from their bench, the starters just didn't do enough.

On Thursday the Bulls travel to Indianapolis to play game 3. I still think the Bulls are going to win the series hands-down, but the Pacers have played pretty well. Both games have been too close for my liking.

But a win is a win is a win, just as a rose is a rose is a Rose. Giddy up for Thursday!

Bulls vs. Pacers: Game 2 (Q3)

Well, it's time for the 2nd half to start. The Bulls must make some shots to get back into the game. One 3-pointer? Really, that's it? We need more of The Asset (that's a nickname I want to catch-on for Korver). The Asset was the term they used in the Bourne Identity series as the super sniper/killer supreme.

10:00 - Nothing eventful so far. I just don't get it. It's like watching a sloppy practice right now. Just bad basketball all around for the Bulls. ** come back to this comment later on when the Bulls end up winning by seven **

9:01 - Deng with a strong move to the basket to tie the game at 49. The crowd just realized they were at an arena and starting cheering.

8:21 - Noah picks for Rose and there was no switch, leaving Rose wide open for a top-of-the-key 3. Good flow now.

7:50 - With every good there's a bad: Rose just air-balled a jumper. :-/

7:29 - Bogan's corpse just hit a corner 3-pointer. Just when I thought I was smelling formaldehyde Bogans and the rest of the Bulls are starting to play.

6:22 - Boozer is starting to make his presence felt on the inside. He blocked Hansbrough and then just shouldered his way into a foul and a trip to the free throw line.

5:34 - Yes! Stacey finally just said his trademark when Rose drove for a basket: "Too big, too fast, too strong, too good." I want to have a sly remark for it but I can't because it fits. Now if he were to say that for a dunk by Brian Scalabrine, then the joke floodgates would be open.

4:30 - The defense is choking the Pacers now. It's not quite suffocating them yet but it'll be soon.

4:19 - "It's like flying chickens in a barnyard." Wtf does that even mean?

4:17 - I think Stacey just called Kurt Thomas big sexy. Do you think A.C. Green was ever called "big gentleman"? That would be the ultimate nickname in high school. Imagine walking down the hallway and have someone holler "there goes big sexy" instead of "there goes that guy that cried when he skinned his elbow during the roller-blading unit in gym glass."

2:55 - After a couple of free throws by Rose the lead for the Bulls is now five.

1:19 - Bulls for a 24-second violation. It's starting to be suffocating now.

0:00 - T.J. Ford just hit a three-quarter court shot at the buzzer to tie the game heading into the 4th! Wow, it was a nice floater of a shot too. It shouldn't have counted because he took a few extra steps, but still it was impressive.

Bulls vs. Pacers: Game 2 (Q2)

What time is it? Quarter 2!

11:27 - Rush is on the Pacers? Now which one is that one? The one that was decent in college and then faded in the NBA or the one who was decent in college and then faded...you get the point.

10:27 - Is Taj Gibson right for this team? I feel he really doesn't contribute as much as he could. It seems like he doesn't play nearly enough but I don't know who he should take minutes away from. Is his potential trade bait?

9:51 - Josh McRoberts is on the Pacers too! You're telling me they have Tyler Hansbrough and Josh McRoberts and Mike Dunleavy?!? If they draft Jimmer or Kyle Singler in the draft then I'm going to buy that team poster and put it on my wall...in 1992.

8:37 - Bulls getting too fancy with crazy passes to players with their backs to them. Team is looking kind of sloppy so far. The Pacers have seven steals and the Bulls are shooting 32%. On the bright side they're only losing by four.

7:30 - Bulls down by eight now :-/

6:35 - I like Korver but he really can't do much besides shoot. I'm glad he doesn't try to force things are pretend something he's not, he knows his limitations, but still I wish he could offer more to the table.

5:53 - After a 3-pointer by Deng and some other basket, the Bulls are down by three before a timeout is called. That's the thing with these Bulls, they score out of nowhere. They're down by a dozen or something, look lackadaisical, and then BAM; they just won the game by two. They just rock you to sleep.

Speaking of sleeping: the Chicago Blackhawks. I can't begin to describe how frustrated I am with them. I was able to watch the first three games in their entirety and in each game I didn't feel like they'd win. **Sigh**

5:22 - Indiana with a 3-on-1 break and that 1 for the Bulls is Korver. Somehow he makes me eat my words from a few minutes ago and he fouls Granger and doesn't allow him to score. I guess he does serve another purpose.

4:17 - Rose hasn't been "Rose" yet. I guess he's waiting until the last five minutes of the game to take things over. That seems kind of familiar, doesn't it Indiana?

3:46 - Two straight dunks for the Pacers. Where are the bigs for the Bulls? When Roy Hibbert performs ballet int he paint then front court isn't doing their job.

3:09 - Paul George with a baseline jumper for Indiana. Never trust a man with two first names.

2:32 - Collison rolls his ankle and I almost hiccuped my chips & salsa. I really hope they don't show replays of that on SportsCenter tonight.

2:26 - Rose gets fouled hard on his way to the basket. It seems like they're trying to muscle him a lot more than normal. It's worked for the Cannucks against the Blackhawks so might as well try.

2:00 - Rose with a steal and breakaway dunk. The crowd finally got up for that one. Most exciting play of the game for Chicago.

Not too many camera shots of super hot girls or any celebrities. Usually a cameraman will give me the obligatory shot of either of those.

10.7 - Josh McRoberts just shot a ball with one hand. I use the word "shot" loosely because it was more of a toss or flick. Definitely not something Coach K would be happy with.

An uneventul first half is closed. Indiana leads 47-44. Something exciting better happen in the second half or I'm going to fall asleep.

Bulls vs. Pacers: Game 2 (Q1)

With every script or novel or book or even Post-It note it begins with a letter. So with my first blog attempt and all others it will begin with "W" (I'm trying to create a theme here so bear with me).

This is going to be a quarter-by-quarter diary of the Bulls vs. Pacers game tonight. Bill Simmons does it for the NBA draft and other games/events so I thought I can rip-off  try it myself.

I'll let my inner Mike Fratello be exposed (no, not that. But I do call it the "czar") and start with some keys to the game.


For the Pacers
1) Contain Rose - don't let him drive and create, have him settle for jumpers.
2) 3-point shooting - the Bulls are bigger than them so stay away from the paint.
3) It's not about how you start but how you finish - I don't care if you are leading for the first 47 minutes, you have to finish strong!

For the Bulls
1) Stay out of foul trouble - Those cheap fouls will get the bigs on the bench early and then the Pacers can try to work things inside to try to grab a quick lead.
2) #2 scorer - This Rose character can play basketball, but you can't use him as a crutch. Someone else needs to step up.
3) Composure - The Bulls rarely seem to lose focus and that's vital for winning. This trend needs to continue throughout the playoffs.

Announcing the game tonight: Neil Funk, Stacey King, and Scottie Pippen! If you take out Funk and put in Pat Foley then I'd be drunk on happiness!

Back when I was growing up the calling of the Bulls starting line-up gave me chills up my spine. I don't mean that figuratively I mean that literally! Actual. Chills!

Joining me with this game is a Czech beer and I'm sure chips & salsa will be making an appearance later on.

12:00 - Mrs. Noah with the tip. Bulls ball.

11:43 - Scottie says his first words. Somewhere out there Barry White is jealous.

10:00 - The ball is getting stolen all over the place for the Bulls. "Psycho T" just got swatted.

9:15 - Rose gets called for a foul and the refs get booed. He could get away with three times as much as Blagojevich in Chicago right now and no one would object to it. He's as untouchable as...well, the Untouchables.

8:34 - Noah offensive rebound and slam. Noah "got his playoff game face on tonight." I'm glad it was that face instead of his O-face.

7:19 - Boozer with a career-long shot. I didn't know he went outside the paint.

6:42 - Haha. Boozer just got an offensive rebounds and Hibbert wanted no part of even touching him. He had alligator hands out there. He's really backing-up his lofty claim from a day ago: http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2011/04/roy-hibbert-on-bulls-no-way-they%E2%80%99re-going-to-sweep-us/

6:15 - Keith Bogans? Really? The team with the best record in the entire league is starting Keith Bogans?

Finally a commercial. I heard chips & salsa whining from the kitchen so I had to let them out.

Lovie Smith in attendance. Wonderful! He's a fine guy but someone needs to escort him out before his losing smell reaches the bench.

4:37 - Every rebound is going to the Bulls. Once a Pacer shoots the other four guys just run down to play defense.

3:40 - Hansbrough to Foster for an and-one called on Rose. I don't have any video footage to back-up this claim, but I think that's the whitest and biggest assister/scorer play in the NBA since 1987. I need to have a stat guy so he can look it up.

2:16 - The score is 14-12 Indiana. Uggg!

1:39 - Noah to Boozer for an and-one basket. I don't have any video footage to back-up this claim, but I think that's the non-caucasianest and biggest assister/scorer play in the NBA since at least Saturday.

I originally hated the Bulls signing Kurt Thomas but he's actually contributing more to the team than I thought. He's always been a very very underrated player; so much so that I would say that he was never even rated to begin with. I hope he plays well. He's earned it.

1:21 - "There's no way in the world Jeff Foster can guard Carlos Boozer in the post." I think you can insert any name in place of Boozer's and Stacey King's statement would still be correct.

1:06 - Psycho-T with another basket. He really wants to become the 2011's version of Rik Smits (and as much as you wouldn't think so, that's actually a compliment to Psycho-T).

25.4 - Scottie needs to talk more. I need more Scottie.

0.00 - Deng heaves a half-court shot that isn't close. After the first quarter it's 18-17 Pacers.