This is the night for stars: LeBron James and Vinny DelNegro.
Of course, it's only a matter of time that the two would collide early in the season, pitting ungodly atheleticism versus red ties and inexplicable time outs.
More seriously, the Chicago Bulls finally take the national stage with an injured Derrick Rose who looks more pedestrian than ever in his early career versus the Anderson Varejao-led Cavs.
The Bulls did not fare well in national games last season, and they'll need to shoot well early if they want to stay in this game. Frankly, I can see Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson getting into foul trouble early with Shaq and company down low.
LeBron will likely put it into overdrive in the second half.
That's the way superstars tend to do it. That's what bothers me at times with Rose. Points don't look like they come easy to him. Of course, it's not fair to compare the two, but LeBron can have a quiet 28 points.
Rose's regular-season career high is 27 points. He rarely racks up double-digit assists and doesn't attack offensive rebounds the way he should (see Rajon Rondo).
It's easy to blame the coach at this point - which I've been zealous to do because he looks like a doofus - but great players can excel in spite of their team.
Secondary stars tend to languish (see Pau Gasol's Memphis Grizzlies' career).
Of course, this is also supposed to be Luol Deng's coming out party after a career night with 24 points and 20 rebounds on Tuesday against the Bucks. But that was the Bucks, and he'll have a heftier chore guarding the guy who is built like an SUV but moves like a Testarossa.
I don't suspect the Bulls will win, but they do tend to keep these games close when playing against good teams. Believe or not, Tyrus Thomas would help this team tonight, but it's still moot.
He's at home with the flu (insert sick pun, go for it, use it....nah, too predictable).
Hopefully he watches the game, learns a thing or two because it's obvious that he never listens to his coach. But then again, LeBron rarely pays attention to Cavs Coach Mike Brown and for good reason.
Let's only hope Derrick can learn the same lesson tonight.
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mmitchell
I'm a journalist who has previously worked for the Sun-Times News Group in the Chicago area, covering features, entertainment, city government, police and crime, and--yes--sports. However, my primary qualification for Bulls analysis: I'm a cynic and a humorist.
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