The Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz, ever since their rivalry sprung into the national spotlight in the mid-to-late 90's, have always represented paradoxical ideologies. It's Mormon country and mountains of snow pitted against hipsters and the biting breeze of the Windy City. It was Stockton's nuthuggers versus Jordan's baggy shorts. It was Hornacek wiping his sideburns to commemorate his children juxtaposed with Rodman wearing a wedding dress on the weekends. The entire rivalry became somewhat of an anomaly.
Years later, things have changed drastically, but the intensity between these old rivals still lives on. The Delta Center has now become Energy Solutions Arena, but the Salt Lake City venue still confines one of the more passionate fan bases in all of sports into one ear-piercing arena. Similar to the raucous crowds that professional basketball in Utah has become so accustomed to, their front-man remains the same--the ageless Jerry Sloan. After Jerry was fired as the Bulls' head coach in 1982, he has since went on to become one of the most successful coaches in the history of the NBA in Utah and has become the longest tenured coach in North American professional sports. He has stapled the Jazz franchise with a devotion to gritty defense and has remained faithful to the pick and roll offense that has kept him successful for nearly 25 years at the helm. And, after Jazz management surrendered 3/5 of their scoring production to Chicago, Sloan still has the Jazz making sweet music (no pun intended) in the NBA West (6 spot).
But with the age old Bulls/Jazz NBA Finals rivalries in the rear-view mirror, the importance of these two teams meeting has shifted into showcasing one of the league's most captivating spectacles. No, I'm not referencing Kirilenko's pumpkin pie haircut versus Joakim's ponytail, it's Rose vs. Williams. Watching Derrick and Deron run the show for their respective teams last night advertised two of the best lead guards in the game. Ever since Rose has blossomed (no pun intended, again) into superstardom, his critics have been hesitant to classify him in the same breath as Chris Paul, Steve Nash and of course, Deron Williams.
But last night, the Rose/Williams rivalry didn't exactly live up to its hype. For example, Rose had 29 and 7, with some big shots sprinkled in that don't exactly make the box score, but he was 11-26 from the floor. If you don't understand exactly how many hoists 26 shots is, Monta Ellis leads the NBA in field goals attempted (1,025) and pops off roughly 20 times a game. Deron, on the other hand, only had 11 points to go along with 12 assists in a 40 minute body of work. Obviously, neither player reached the heights that they were capable of in last night's affair. Maybe because they held each other in check, or maybe it was because it was a meaningless interleague tilt on a Wednesday night in the Great Salt Lake (one of the more bad ass music videos and songs of all time).
Don't get me wrong, I love both of these guys. Both are explosive off the dribble in penetration and both have tirelessly worked to make great strides in improving their jumpers since they've entered the highest level of basketball competition. Not to mention, they both have questionable arm tattoos (Rose has that Merlin-like wizard that reads "Poohdini" on his arm and Deron has that oversized Black Panther sprawling his shoulder). These players have a lot of similarities and both have used the Land of Lincoln to stage some of their finest accomplishments. In the end, maybe this was Boozer, Korver and Brewer's night in their return to Beehive state. We'll have another chance to see Derrick measure himself against one of the finer guards in the league on Saturday against CP3. Hopefully he's on point, get it?
As for Pick of the Day, the Pulse Man has slipped to 52-38 after suffering a loss at the hands of the Evansville Aces earlier in the week. For tonight, the Pulse Man likes his alma mater, the EIU Panthers, getting a 15.5 point spread tonight at Morehead State. I don't think he knows much about Morehead, but 15.5 is a whole lot of points. Two words: Panther Pride.
Pick of the Day: Eastern Illinois (+15.5) @ Morehead St.- EASTERN ILLINOIS
Record:(52-38-0)
Now I'm done. Rack me
Frost
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