MIAMI - In what is considered to be a renaissance era for exceptional point guards, the two-time defending N.B.A. champion Heat - who, in effect, play without one - welcomed the most intriguing of the little-man lot back to the regular-season grind Tuesday night.
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were pleased to see Derrick Rose on the court again with the Chicago Bulls after a full season lost to a harrowing knee injury. Both offered a standard platitude - 'good for the league' - for a fellow member of the industry elite.
Then James, Wade and friends got emotionally ready to receive their championship rings and watch the Miami franchise's third banner rise to the rafters of American Airlines Arena. The timing of the season-opening occasion could not have been a clearer admonition, a metaphorical pat on Rose's head. Son, you've got some growing to do before you can take what we've got.
The global N.B.A. village is thrilled to have Rose back attacking the seams of opposing defenses. It is ready to concede that he was right to hold himself out as the Bulls, short-handed and limping, valiantly struggled against Miami last spring in the second round of the playoffs.
'He's gotten better, man - you guys are going to see it,' Bulls forward Carlos Boozer said. 'His timing is great. His point guard skills have improved a lot. His passing is precise. His leadership is better. He trusts us more.'
The typically humble Rose agreed, acknowledging that watching from a different perspective, the bench, has made him a more learned floor general. He nodded to the suggestion that this is the best Bulls team he has played on, though he graciously added, 'No disrespect to my former teammates.'
No disrespect to Rose or to the stalwart defenders in Coach Tom Thibodeau's core lineup, but history reminds that there have been few N.B.A. championship teams whose most dominant player was a superstar in miniature.
As a 6-feet-9 freak of nature, Magic Johnson doesn't qualify for this discussion of classic lead guards. At 6-1, Isiah Thomas comes to mind as the backbone of the 1989 and 1990 champion Detroit Pistons. John Stockton, also 6-1, came mighty close with his tag-team partner, Karl Malone, in Utah. But in the modern game, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, James, Wade and a few very large men have been the primary difference makers.
Tony Parker was San Antonio's best player as the Spurs came within a stroke of good fortune from beating the Heat in the 2013 finals. But Tim Duncan played close to the level of his prime, when he fueled the Spurs' four titles. Chauncey Billups was the glue to Detroit when the 2004 Pistons took out the Los Angeles Lakers in five games for the title. But he was no transcendent star, in the way Allen Iverson was when his Philadelphia 76ers fell in five games to the Shaq-and-Kobe Lakers in 2001.
Rose, Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry and a few others are part of the group that has been celebrated for elevating - though hardly inventing - the hybrid point guard game, combining explosive scoring ability with playmaking flair. An earlier generation produced true visionaries in Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, but also gave us the me-first indulgences of Iverson and Stephon Marbury.
It is no easy chore to balance blinding quickness and a soft touch with essential team needs. Iverson never really did, but that didn't stop James from calling him 'pound for pound probably the greatest player to ever play.'
Basketball's reigning king is always one quotation from breaking news, and his Iverson commendation went viral Monday on Twitter. Maybe he was just being respectful in advance of the Heat's visit to Philadelphia on Wednesday night, where Iverson's retirement is scheduled to be ceremonially upgraded from obvious to official. Or he merely meant to say that Iverson got more out of a skinny little body than anyone he could recall.
Players often do have a different take on the game from the rest of us. From the beginning, they respect pure talent.
That is why Wade said of Iverson: 'One of my favorite players of all time. I took pride in wearing No. 3 because A. I. wore it. He changed the game, in a sense. For all the little boys that were in the driveway, doing the A.I. crossover, I'm sure everyone's going to tune in to watch that.'
But the game moves on, its spotlight on the ascendant. Iverson may have gotten the most out of his body, but he never did grasp the meaning of growth, via practice. This is where Rose has a chance to become that little big man, or champion, according to Thibodeau.
'Even though he couldn't play last year, he studied,' Thibodeau said. 'He made the best of his circumstances. He's a stronger player, a smarter player. And now the challenge is for us to put it together as a team.'
It's an intriguing team, with tough, versatile players like Joakim Noah, Luol Deng and Jimmy Butler.
'Can't go out and play against the Bulls lackadaisically or they're going to turn you over, they're going to embarrass you and you're going to end up scoring 60 points for the game,' James said.
But can they play that way for 82 games from now until mid-April and win 16 more against the league's best teams? Can Rose become that rare exception in a sport where bigger men rule?
In the interests of variety, that would undoubtedly be good for the league.
Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 - Rating: 4.5
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