analysed ad naseum in the previous thread. I agree with Matt’s conclusions and those of several other posters, so I won’t rehash the entire game. However, I wanted to add four observations that I made last night at the UC:

(1) Either Rose is doing the most committed, devoted Michael Jordan impersonation ever, or he really is just that intrinsically competitive. At the very end of the game, when the result was certain, he was nonetheless visibly displeased with his failure to make the little half hook jumper in the lane. When he was on the bench, he watched the game intently, cheering with genuine zeal and yelling information to his teammates on the floor. I honestly believe that victory is the kid’s only priority;

(2) Rose seems like a natural leader, even at his precocious young age. There were several instances where he called teammates over after plays and either encouraged them or gave them miniature tutorials on how he wanted plays to be run. I was surprised (and encouraged) by how much respect the veterans already seem to have for him;

(3) I am slightly concered about Rose’s health and durability, not because I think he is frail or injury prone, but because he takes a tremendous amount of punishment when he gets fouled on drives. I was seated close to the floor and I cringed when Ridnour hammered him across the head. He absorbed a massive blow on another drive as well. In the last preseason game, he mildly injured his hip when he batted out of the air on a drive to the rim. He generates so much momentuim with his speed and explosive leaping that the fouls in the lane are transformed into major collisions. Then again, Allen Iverson gets knocked around like a rag doll, but it hasn’t affected his longevity or productivity;

(4) When Rose trotted through the smoke and the public address announcer said ’FROM CHICAGO…", I got goosebumps.

I’m almost afraid to comment, Mista Blogabull warns me about everything. Did I really just get another one for saying “Where’s matt at now?”