No one can accuse Derrick Rose of lacking self-confidence. “Why can’t I be the MVP of the league,” Rose famously asked last September, before becoming the youngest MVP in NBA history last season. This year, he’s still not concerned with anybody else, and is now talking about bringing multiple championships to his hometown. Read More »

No one wants to come out and admit it right now, but is there a race going on between Dwight Howard and Chris Paul to get to Hollywood? Some believe so. How it came to this, we aren’t sure. But it suddenly feels like the two biggest pieces in this new age NBA and are both privately gunning for the same team. The only problem is, most likely, only one of them gets there. As Yahoo! Sports reported, the Lakers and Hornets have already talked deals. With Howard not coming out one way or another and with the Hornets’ front office determined not to have a repeat of what happened in Cleveland, the focus shifted to CP, and the Lakers reportedly offered New Orleans their pick: Andrew Bynum or Pau Gasol? Who do you want? Read More »

Thank you Derek Fisher for saying what every fan already knows: since the NBA went into a lockout, all we’ve heard is crickets. Fisher thinks it’s been oddly quiet ever since June ended. This week’s negotiating will deal with many of the “system” issues at hand, not necessarily the money. We like that approach. Get the fundamental stuff down first – like whether a hard cap could actually work – and then figure out the money. Talking money does nothing, outside of making everyone crazy. Make some progress people … Read More »

Predicting the future isn’t an exact science, especially in the NBA. Ask the Clippers in 2005. Ask Portland in 2000. Ask Orlando in 1995. Ask Houston in 1985. Free agency, trades, the disease of more, petty jealousies and personal problems…they can all rip a team to shreds. Out of every five 40-win teams with upside, perhaps one will eventually turn into a legit contender. The rest fall by the wayside, victims of their own promise. Read More »

As the NBA lockout lingers on like a bad hangover or the movie “Gigli,” we here at Dime have decided to go on a field trip. We’re hopping in the time machine and going back to 1998, the year of the last NBA lockout. A little “then and now” if you will; who were the best players in the league then, and what are they doing now.

But let’s make this a little more interesting…since we’re back there, we might as well see what the top players in today’s game were up to in 1998. Read More »

The most common criticism that people have had against the Bulls this season has been their lack of a true scorer outside of Derrick Rose. Never was that more evident than in the last five minutes of regulation and overtime of Game 4, when Rose essentially went one-on-one with a much bigger LeBron James because nobody else on his team could create any shots without his help. The most glaring weakness is at the two guard spot, where the Bulls currently have a flawed three-man rotation there. Read More »

A night after Sir Dirk Nowitzki went all epic in OKC (yes, you read that right, I’ve officially knighted him), there was no way I was letting another pivotal Game 4 pass me by without a live journal (not that kind of LiveJournal). Chicago needed this one: a 3-1 hole is insurmountable – like the hole left in my heart after the Macho Man’s untimely passing (RIP). Bulls’ backs to the wall, LeBron & Co. raring to go…Let’s. Get. It. On. Read More »

Words. Eric Bressman

There are no awards to honor his body of work, but perhaps that is precisely the point. We can dub him the MUP (Most Underrated Player), but it’s a title that’s impossible to assess objectively, and ultimately we’ll find ourselves in something of a Catch-22. What is certain is that without Luol Deng, the Chicago Bulls, not only as a team but as a franchise, would not be where they are today. Read More »

Behind every Sherlock lies a Watson. Lurking in the shadows of a potential MVP can be tough for anyone, though C.J. Watson seems to be making the best out of his back-up role in Chicago. Coming from a Warriors team where he was averaging 27-plus minutes and putting up good numbers, you would think C.J. would be upset about getting significantly less playing time. Not so much. As an integral part of the surging Bulls’ second unit – a bench many regard as the best in the League – he is now playing for a team destined to make a serious splash in the postseason. Last I checked, the Warriors aren’t exactly contenders. We got up with Mr. Watson to discuss playing behind Derrick Rose, his favorite sneakers and Miami’s “Crygate.” Read More »

Before the season started, I wrote how I thought the Bulls were ready to make the leap. Let’s just say the readers didn’t really agree. The “leap” is the next step that good teams take to become great. Actors also make the leap. For instance, Mila Kunis just recently made the leap with her role in The Black Swan, along with Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network and The Rock in Faster. (Kidding about the last one.) Well, the Bulls officially made the leap. With Derrick Rose’s MVP-caliber season underway, as well as a front office all-in on the “our time is now” belief, the Bulls have elevated themselves into the elite. Read More »