Image by Getty Images via @daylifeCHICAGO -- As Derrick Rose practiced his corner 3-pointer an hour and a half before Saturday's game against the Washington Wizards, he was unexpectedly crowded by a bunch of guys in sweaters and sportcoats hanging around the visitors' bench.
He looked over, a bit confused, and kept shooting.
Why was the media invading his space?
After a slow start, Rose finished with 24 points, hitting 8 of 20 from the field (7 of 12 in the last three quarters) and all seven of his free throws, to go with eight assists, two steals and three turnovers. He scored eight, hitting four of six shots, as the Bulls took control in the third. He had four assists in the fourth.
In truth, Rose had nothing to prove against Wall, the reigning No. 1 pick and most recent addition to the exciting crop of young point guards in the NBA. Rose knows that, and Wall knows that.
"We're two different people," Wall said before the game. "He's Derrick Rose, I'm John Wall. He's proved himself on this level already for three years he's been in the league. I'm trying to prove myself that I can be the kind of player he is."
Wall looked good, but not great, perhaps bogged down a bit by playing three games in four days. He sat out for part of the second half with a strained foot, but returned late in the fourth.
Wall is certainly every bit as fast as Rose and a lot of people think his jumper is already better -- though that's like saying someone is better with their money than Scottie Pippen.
Rose said Wall will have to get used to constant comparisons to other guards in the league, something few players enjoy hearing about from us reporter types.
"It's not going to stop," Rose said. "He's going to have to answer every call, every matchup. Every point guard in the NBA has a matchup. It's kind of like a faster game now, so the point guards are dominating the ball and really almost like the best players on the team. So every night he's going to have someone coming at him."
If Rose could learn something from Wall, it would be his penchant for thievery.
Wall, who leads the league in steals, had three in the first half. The only one I remember is watching him sneak behind Noah near the top of the key for a swipe. It was the kind of freelancing that Rose is capable of, but doesn't do often enough. Tom Thibodeau can't teach that either; it has to come from inside.
The best part of the Rose-Wall matchup was that it happened.
The NBA needs rivalries that have nothing to do with Twitter potshots, past cheap shots or taking one's talents from the Rust Belt to South Beach.
Rose-Wall is all about basketball, and it matches two exciting, fast, up-and-coming players. It's a relief, quite frankly, and I'll take that every night.
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