Derrick Rose was back, and the Chicago Bulls had secured Game 1 in their first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers. Fans in the United Center were cheering while heading for the exits.
It was the ideal beginning for what everyone thought what was headed for an epic Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat Eastern Conference Finals showdown for the second consecutive year.
Then, with 1:22 left in the fourth quarter, Rose went down clutching his knee.
That quickly quieted the raucous United Center crowd.
Now with Derrick Rose out for the rest of the season, only question marks remain for the Bulls.
The outlook appears to be much different for Lebron James and the Miami Heat.
The Heat looked unstoppable in their 100-67 annihilation of the New York Knicks in Game 1. James finished with 32 points and the Heat forced an astonishing 24 turnovers.Â
With Iman Shumpert joining Derrick Rose with a torn ACL and Tyson Chandler still recovering from the flu, the Miami Heat could make quick work of the Knicks.
Seems to be reminiscent of last year for the Heat doesn't it?
Lebron James and the Heat only lost three games in the Eastern Conference playoffs before falling to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. Miami made quick work of Philadelphia, Boston and even a Chicago team with Derrick Rose.
With Derrick Rose going down, the Miami Heat are once again the heavy favorites to emerge out of the Eastern Conference.
However, winning the Eastern Conference won't earn you a championship ring.
Neither will losing in the NBA Finals.
The Miami Heat will once again fall in the NBA Finals to a better team.
Since "The Decision," South Beach has been a bigger circus than the Ringling Bros. Lebron James and Dwayne Wade still struggle to coexist while Chris Bosh is simply "that other guy".Â
Heat fans will argue that having two scoring superstars is the best of both worlds. When Lebron is off, Wade is on. When Wade is off, Lebron is on. When they are both on, there is no stopping them.Â
Lebron and Wade both need touches to get points, and they need a lot of them. The two players don't feed off of each other, they compete against one another.
Name the best duos in NBA history.
Stockton and Malone.
Pippen and Jordan.
Kareem and Magic.
Bird and McHale.
All of these players knew their role, and excelled at it. You simply can't have two "go-to guys" that demand the ball.
They compete against each other, not the other team.
So in the words of Lebron James himself, "Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven."
No Lebron, not seven.
Zero.
That's how many championship rings will be coming to South Beach at the end of this year's playoffs.
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