Getty Images In the past decade, Isiah Thomas has become a punch line. Actually, the better way to phrase that is he made himself a punch line— his wounds are self-inflicted. He wrecked the Knicks.
But before that, Thomas was one of the best point guards ever to play the game. A little guy who led his “bad-boy” Pistons to multiple NBA titles. He was as good on the court as he has been bad off it.
Derrick Rose wants to be like Thomas on the court — be the dominant little guy, bring a title back to Chicago. Rose is young and passionate (oh, and pretty good attacking the rim) but inexperienced.
So he turned to fellow Chicagoan Thomas for advice, reports ESPNChicago.com.
Isiah Thomas said he met Rose last year after a game in Detroit and that Rose contacted him after the Bulls’ season had ended.
“He was pretty down,” Thomas told ESPNChicago.com by phone on Wednesday. “He asked me ‘How did you do it? How did you win back-to-back championships at this size?’ And my response to him was that once you understand your opponent and know your opponent better than you know yourself, you’ll win.”
In other words, gain experience. And watch a lot of film. Study the game.
The other part of the discussion was putting up with the physical pain and grind — little guys who drive the lane like Rose take a lot of punishment. Rose has already missed games for turf toe and almost sat out Wednesday due to back spasms but decided to play. Thomas’ advice is basically get used to it. But a sprained ankle in the playoffs last year slowed Rose and he is now on pace to go into these playoffs more injured — the Bulls need to start finding a way to get him some rest. Let his body recover a little.
Or that dream of being a little guy who wins a title isn’t happening.
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Chris Bosh works out on court, still not ready for Game 1
May 28, 2012, 10:40 AM EDT
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Chris Bosh is not walking through that door… yet. The Heat’s big man who is key to their offensive spacing — and in the Eastern Conference finals could help cover Kevin Garnett — is still officially “out indefinitely” with a strained abdomen and will not dress for Game 1 against Boston Monday. However, Bosh was…
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When the game was on the line, Oklahoma City just did not have an answer for the herky-jerky style of Manu Ginobili. He had 11 of the Spurs 37 points in the fourth quarter as the Spurs found a system that worked — going small — and came from behind to win Game 1. Ginobili…
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British officials ticked Bulls tried to dissuade Deng from Olympics
May 28, 2012, 9:58 AM EDT
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From the start, Luol Deng has been clear about what he wants to do — his wrist may need surgery but he was going to play through it and be part of Great Britain’s Olympic basketball team, the way he played through it for the Bulls at the end of the season. Even if that…
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AP
SEASON RECORDS Miami 46-20 (No. 2 seed) Boston: 39-27 (No. 5 seed) SEASON SERIES Boston won the season series 3-1. In their second to final game before the playoffs the Heat did not play any of their big three against the Celtics, so toss that one out. KEY INJURIES Celtics: Starting two guard Avery Bradley…
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Reuters
The best part of this Gregg Popovich in-game pep talk to his team is really the way he snarls that last line. He started the speach (before that video clip above) with the line ”Are we having fun yet?” His Spurs were down 9 going into the fourth and he hadn’t seen the fight from them…
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Momma said there’d be days like this. Kevin Durant had a pretty bizarre Game 1 vs. San Antonio. He couldn’t get it going in the first half, shook loose in the third quarter, and then was bottled up by San Antonio in the fourth. He hit free throws, a result of the Spurs’ defensive approach…
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Popovich reaches into toolbox, makes adjustments, Spurs win Game 1
May 28, 2012, 12:18 AM EDT
Reuters
There’s a reason the Spurs haven’t lost a game since before you sent your taxes in (19 in a row now) — they can adapt and take what you give them. Gregg Popovich is the master of adjustments and this roster is a huge toolbox of options for him to choose from. He and the…
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AP
Rajon Rondo was asked Saturday night about how the Celtics feel about their chances. From Fox Sports Florida’s Chris Tommasson: Rajon Rondo believes Celtics can beat Heat: “We feel we can beat Miami. Obviously, we got to this point. There’s no doubt in our mind we can. We got to go down there and take…
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Josh Childress, the former Hawk sixth man who bolted for Greece and was coaxed back to the NBA by Phoenix, wasn’t impressive this season and fell out of the rotation with the Suns (at least until Grant Hill got injured). But that didn’t stop him from setting a dubious record this season, something pointed out…
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CSN New England’s A. Sherrod Blakely talks about Rajon Rondo‘s “big game DNA” after the Celtics Game 7 win Saturday night. It should be noted that Rondo’s Game 7 career averages entering Saturday were 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists, which is obviously good, but not by any means monstrous. Still, Rondo’s ability to…
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The Boston Celtics don’t mind the short two-day turnaround until the start of the Eastern Conference finals. At least that’s what they are saying now. We’ll see what they are saying Monday night after the game. So you can set your DVR and not miss a moment, following is the schedule for the Eastern Conference…
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AP
Now this is more like it. No more Shaq nonsense. No more ridiculousness. The Magic are reportedly in pursuit of interviews for three members from the Spurs-Thunder tree for their open GM position. From Yahoo! Sports: Thunder vice president and assistant general manager Troy Weaver and Spurs assistant GM Dennis Lindsey have been targeted, and…
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The Celtics wrapped up their series with the Sixers on Saturday night, and now have to fly to Miami Sunday morning for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against a Heat team that has been healing and waiting for five days. Considering the age and injury status of most of the Celtics, this might…
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Reuters
There is an argument to be made that Rajon Rondo is the single most compelling player in the NBA, at least the one still playing in these now Conference Finals after the Celtics’ 85-75 win in Game 7 over the Sixers to advance to face Miami. And if anything, Game 7 reinforced that idea as…
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Warriors working to leverage future assets to get back future asset they already leveraged
May 26, 2012, 8:18 PM EDT
The Warriors are in a hurry to rebuild, apparently. After trading Monta Ellis and Ekpe Udoh to get what they considered to be their franchise defensive center, a must for Mark Jackson’s plans since he was hired, the Warriors shut down their entire team and tanked so hard in order to keep their draft pick.…
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Saturday night will be the sixth time the Philadelphia and Boston have met in a Game 7. These are two of the NBA’s legendary franchises and located less than a six-hour train ride apart. They are natural rivals and this Game 7 Saturday in the Eastern Conference semifinals is just the next chapter in that…
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Video: Larry Bird and Magic Johnson remind you what everyone’s playing for
May 26, 2012, 5:00 PM EDT
ESPN’s rafters commercials have been really good. The Kevin Durant one held the promise of future, the Paul Pierce one held the reminder of glory for a franchise that hasn’t seen a title since 2008. The new “A Champion Will Rise” commercials speak to the league’s history, and feature two of the greatest to ever…
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The Hawks are not talking extension with Josh Smith, for some reason
May 26, 2012, 3:00 PM EDT
Reuters
Trying to figure out the Hawks’ approach to Josh Smith is a trick. They don’t regularly campaign for Smith for the All-Star teams and have never made a fuss when he’s not selected despite it routinely being pretty terrible. They wouldn’t give him a big deal when he was a restricted free agent in 2008,…
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Video: San Antonio Mayor welcomes Charles Barkley to San Antonio… with rings
May 26, 2012, 1:00 PM EDT
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Charles Barkley is well known for not liking San Antonio. It’s just not his kind of town. Like a lot of towns in Texas, the people that like San Antonio love it, those that don’t are very “meh” on it. Very few hate it. It’s hard to hate it. It’s a livable city. (Note: For…
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Reuters
Game 7. It’s usually when even veterans get tight, playing like they are afraid to make a mistake. It means in Game 7 the offensive numbers plummet — but I don’t know that they can much more in Boston vs. Philadelphia. This has been a series about which team could find enough offense against a…
