Man, right after I credited him for not resorting to useless tough-talk after blowing two free-throws late, Derrick Rose apparently did do so again. Sam Smith has the quote:

I missed those free throws. Hopefully, next time if I get the opportunity I'm going to knock them down. I told them (coaches) where if I was out there and we needed to win the game, I wanted to be in there. He put me in. I missed those damn free throws. Next time I know for sure I'll hit one of them.

This is twice as realistic as he was after that late January loss in Miami:

I had the chance to change the game. This time, it didn't work out. My will to win is still very high. I guarantee next time the shots are going down.

Maybe after next time he'll say "hey, I'm a pretty good foul shooter. Maybe they'll go in, maybe they won't. It's a small sample size, it's not like we judge LeBron James because of such ridiculous things, so why would it apply to me?"

Of course, Rose is of a different mindset than my pantsless, basement-dwelling self, and this is to convince himself more than anything. I guess...just hope the question doesn't need to come up again for a while.