On Brink Of Elimination
“The youngest MVP in the history of the NBA missed a free-throw with 1.10 seconds to play which would have given the Bulls a point lead before spurning two more chances to level the series in the final minute,” the London Evening Standard reports.
“[A] distraught Rose, 22, acknowledged the fact that he had let his team down.
“Tonight it was definitely on me,” said Rose who scored 23 points on the night. “I had great opportunities to end the game and I couldn’t do it. It was my fault but I will learn from it.
“If you want to be great you need to want pressure. It was a tough night and they played great defense but you need to find a way to finish the game off in the fourth quarter when we have a lead.”
Air Ball
“When Derrick Rose had a chance to win the game and tie the series, he came up short. In fact, his shot failed to reach the rim,” AP reports.
“The miss from 17 feet as the fourth quarter ended sent Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals into overtime, and the Miami Heat took advantage of the reprieve Tuesday to beat the Chicago Bulls 101-93.”
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“[Rose] was neutralized for the third game in a row. The NBA MVP scored 23 points, but he shot only 8 for 27 and committed seven turnovers.”
Rose Doesn’t Have ‘It’
“[H]e wasn’t efficient,” Israel Gutierrez writes for McClatchy Newspapers. “He wasn’t overpowering. He wasn’t enough.This is where it is becoming painfully obvious that Rose, as talented as he is and as willing to lead as he is, just doesn’t have what it takes to lead this team past the Heat.
“What ‘it’ is remains to be identified. Maybe he’s simply not tall enough to be the force that LeBron James is. Maybe he doesn’t affect the game on the defensive end the way you would expect someone with his athleticism would. Maybe he remains conflicted with his ‘point guard’ role because he’s also asked to score too much for his team to compete. Or maybe this Heat defense really is just that good at stopping a team’s initial option.”
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“He was 0 of 5 from beyond the three-point arc in the first quarter. He missed seven of his nine shots in the quarter. He committed two turnovers and had zero assists in the quarter. And it was a quarter where the Heat shot a lousy 27.8 percent from the floor and scored 16 points. Still, Rose couldn’t make his imprint.”
LeBron vs. Rose
“LeBron James showed his value to the Miami Heat on the defensive side of the court in their 101-93 overtime win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, stopping the man who replaced him as the league’s MVP – Derrick Rose,” Simon Evans writes for Reuters.
“James, who top-scored with 35 points for the Heat, took on the task of limiting Rose in the fourth quarter and it was his presence that hampered the Bulls main offensive threat when he missed a chance to win the game with eight seconds left.
“Toward the end of a marathon game, James volunteered for the difficult job of guarding the quick and agile 22-year-old and his coach Erik Spoelstra was delighted as his team went 3-1 up in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals.”
Official NBA Highlights
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AP Post-Game Report
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Posted on May 25, 2011