Rose Working Out
Miami,Fla – The Chicago Bulls are certainly happy to have chosen Derrick Rose with the top overall pick in last year’s draft, with the point guard leading them back into playoff position.
Rose and the Bulls, however, are still looking for their first head-to-head victory of the season over the Miami Heat and Michael Beasley, who was chosen one pick after Rose last summer.
Oddsmakers from Online Sportsbook SPORTSBETTING have made the Heat -5 point spread favorites for today’s game against the Bulls. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 58% of more than 217 bets for this game have been placed on the Heat -5.
They’ll get a third opportunity Monday night in Miami, where Chicago will try to maintain its hold on eighth place in the Eastern Conference and snap a four-game road losing streak.
With both coming off impressive freshman seasons at Memphis and Kansas State, respectively, Rose and Beasley were considered the top prospects in the 2008 draft.
The Bulls (29-34) chose to rebuild around the Chicago native and Rose has not disappointed, ranking second among rookies with 16.6 points per game and first with 6.3 assists a contest.
He matched a season high with 27 points Friday night against Milwaukee, helping the Bulls to a 117-102 win that vaulted them into sole possession of eight in the East. They’re atop a tight six-team cluster fighting for the final playoff spot.
"Everybody around here is happy and we don’t want to go back down, so we are going to fight for it," Rose said.
Ben Gordon led Chicago with 34 points against the Bucks, helping to shoulder the scoring load as forward Luol Deng missed his third straight game with what could be a stress fracture in his right leg.
Deng’s replacement in the starting lineup has been John Salmons, acquired by Chicago from Sacramento at last month’s trade deadline. Salmons has averaged 22.0 points in his last two games.
Miami also made a deal before the deadline, adding Jermaine O’Neal and Jamario Moon from Toronto for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. Marion had the winning basket in the closing seconds of the Heat’s 95-93 win at Chicago on Feb. 12, his final game with Miami.
Beasley had 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting off the bench in that game, and the Heat also won the first meeting between the rookies. Rose was 3-of-14 from the field and totaled 10 points, three assists and five turnovers in the Bulls’ 90-77 loss at Miami on Dec. 26.
Chicago is 10-23 away from home, and its current four-game road skid includes lopsided losses at Washington and Charlotte.
"We’ve been trying to figure that out the whole season," Rose said after Tuesday night’s 96-80 loss to the Bobcats. "The only thing I can say is that we need to be consistent, no matter where we are at, here, Mars, anywhere."
Led by a resurgent Dwyane Wade, the NBA scoring leader, the Heat (33-29) sit fifth in the East as they try to secure a return to the playoffs following a 15-67 season.
They’re 3-2 in their last five games, with both losses coming against East-leading Cleveland. Saturday night’s 99-89 road defeat to the Cavaliers came despite 25 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds and four steals from Wade. Beasley added 19 points off the bench.
Wade, like Rose a Chicago native, was ejected for the first time in his career in the final minute after receiving his second technical foul.
"We felt we got some bad calls," Wade said calmly. "Tempers got hot. I felt I got fouled and there was no call. So my temper got hot."
He’s averaging 36.4 points and 10.8 assists in his last eight games, with four 40-point efforts over that span.
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Posted: 3/9/09 2:00AM ET
