true ios true ios true android false computer $upper($url_encode($(QUERY_STRING{'bypassCountry'}))) NONE $url_encode($(GEO{'country_code'})) $url_encode($(GEO{'country_code'})) $(bpc) true true false Ask Sam | Sam Smith opens his mailbag | 09.12.2014 | NBA.com
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Ask Sam | Sam Smith opens his mailbag | 09.12.2014

I’m not going to be one of the fans that over react, but one thing that I find kind of interesting is that D Rose started really strong in preseason last year and once the regular season started, he seemed like a completely different player. It seems as though the same thing has happened this year. He started the camp really strong and played well in the scrimmage and the exhibition in Chicago. Since then he seems like a different player who has regressed.
John Rallis

I read your article about Ray Allen, and I totally agree he would be a great fit. Though I remember you telling me he wouldn't come to the Bulls so I suspect you are just stirring things up for the fans.
Stephen Fulton

I personally tend to be a bit goggle-eyed about the talent of the bigs, but that doesn't mean I'm missing DMD, Snell, or Butler. Curious to see how Brooks does. But it's all against a backdrop of the remade Bulls roster. Who thinks Rose would have won MVP if Bulls had landed LBJ summer 2010? That's the fairer question to ask in the current context. Let's get real blunt here. I don't especially want Rose to win MVP this year. That likely means he's dominating the ball and I want to see how this experiment with Really Tall Players works out.
Pete Zievers

Rose winning MVP was great but Bulls were never going to win a championship with a PG scoring 25 a game and 8 assists. We saw against good teams we were very easy to defend. If Rose comes back as a 17-20 point scorer with 7-9 dimes a game and plays the type of probing style that Tony Parker plays only then will the Bulls be a legit contender. In the end, dropping out of MVP contention is the best thing to happen to him and the Bulls because now we've built a team including him rather than around him. It's a subtle but huge difference.
Sundeep Shah

I've only followed the box scores and read the recaps for the world cup. Therefore, I'm missing the context of Derrick Rose's shots, whether or not they were good decisions, contested, the locations on the floor, game situations, etc. That said, his field goal % is brutal so far and I'm not sure he's made a single short international three yet, though he is taking them. I know he's rusty, but I think we were all hoping the practice he put in shooting over the past couple of years while he couldn't play real games would at least help prevent him from regressing with his shot if not improve it. I know he's still getting used to live games again. Is that all that's going on?
Cameron Watkins

How important is team chemistry in developing competitive teams? Would the San Antonio Spurs beat the current USA team?
Gorav Raheja

I was just wondering why Mirotic isn't playing for Spain?
Trevor Hoffler

Should Riley have pulled a Krause and just tore down the Miami Heat after LBJ left? Paying Bosh would have been like overpaying Pippen after our 6th ring. I just think that this Miami team will be bad and possibly miss the post season while paying out high salaries to an aging team with no future and youth what so ever.
Mike Sutera

Timberwolves trade: Another awful trade that only helps the opposing team? To me, the issue isn't whether Love could leave at the end of the year, it's the fact that some other teams are a horrible drag on the NBA. I've always wanted the NBA to contract, have less teams!
Matt Adler

I was looking around on basketball-reference and noticed that Wilt Chamberlain averaged 43.3 minutes per game while playing all 82 games in his last three seasons at age 34, 35 and 36. I know Chamberlain was one of the most impressive athletes ever to play the sport, but those minutes just reminded me that Thibodeau didn't exactly invent playing guys a lot of minutes over the past four years via Deng and Butler.
Carl Watkins

So what have you thought about the play of Anthony Davis? He is looking like he is going to be a huge star and probably this season. I fully expect New Orleans to make the playoffs with him sliding over to the 4. That is a very dangerous front court, bet they are going to block a ton of shots this year. How long till you get ridiculous trade demands in do you think? People are going to want Davis in Chicago and begin the chatter shortly if I am any judge. I would love to see him here, but I hope he can carry New Orleans and be a star there for years to come instead of leaving.
Matt Reev

I was just thinking about all this fuss and this anxiety culture that's developed because as fans, we're so attached to Rose and seeing him play that having watched him get injured twice, we basically hold our breath every time he drives or if he says he's feeling sore. Then something occurred to me. When Rose was healthy during his MVP season, yes he was playing with as much reckless abandon as we've seen him play but that wasn't how he got injured, and that was one of his healthiest seasons so far. In fact, both times he's gotten injured, it was on non-contact plays that were essentially forced. Which in both cases reflects the reckless and forced nature he plays with. And now we're hearing him say things like he's learned to play more controlled and a little more systematic than always in overdrive. So my question to you is this: do you think those non-contact plays were independent and incidental or somehow correlated to the strain he puts his body through by being a little reckless and the cumulative contact he's had? Because if it's the latter, I don't think he should change his style of play completely to avoid injury but perhaps do exactly what he said he's doing, and that is to play a little more controlled and a little less reckless.
Vinay Nagaraj

Given the news that Rondo wants out, what do you think of a trade between The Suns and The Celtics? Centering around Rondo and Bledsoe?
Marlon Umali

Where do you think Elgin Baylor would rank today as a small forward with current offensively minded rules? Also, in all the old video I see no one seems to cross over dribble, is that because it was considered carrying.
Adnaan Hamid

The fact that players don't really see playing for the USA Basketball being a honor and a privilege. So many players drop out on the team and many wouldn't be even available to play that I found ludicrous. I know the teams are the ones who pay the players and injuries can happen, but they can happen on the way to the gym or the supermarket. Anyone remember what the '92 Dream Team in the Olympics did to the NBA internationally? My question is not only about the players but the population in general and journalists in particular. Why do journalists undervalue these international tournaments so much? This should be an honor and a privilege for Derrick to represent his country. The Bulls fans should be proud to have a player on their team that got picked to play for his national team. Isn't it arrogant to think the World Championship is a minor tournament?
Rui Dias