Derrick Rose
courtesy of Keith Allison

Reigning MVP Derrick Rose was in a mood.

Sunday night he blamed himself for a loss against the Miami Heat that left him angry, emotional, and determined to make it up in the next game he’d play.

Unfortunately for the Washington Wizards they were that next game. Rose looked like a madman on the court in a 35 point performance as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Wizards 98-88.

The Wizards tried everything they could to stop Rose and the Bulls but it was to no avail. The loss left Wizards coach Randy Wittman a little testy, transferring his frustration to the press after the game. When asked about the team’s Pick and Roll strategy against Rose he answered to the reporter asking the question , “Did you of that question all day? If you have a new strategy, call my office tomorrow. We tried four different things. The way he played tonight, I don’t know if there’s anything we would have thrown out there that could have of. So did he dice it up? Yea, is that what you want me to say?”

I hope Wittman doesn’t read the column I wrote about him.

Rose’s play on the floor opened up opportunities for the rest of the Bulls. Kyle Korver went 5-12 outside the arc and ended the night with 17 points. Carlos Boozer (18 pts) and Joakim Noah (14 pts) also filled up the stat sheet. The Wizards ran up and down the floor in an attempt to stop Chicago, who led the game all four quarters. Iced knees were spotted in the Wizards locker room after the game.

“They’re one exhausted bunch of guys right now- that left it on the floor,” Wittman said.

The young Wizards squad tried everything they could to stop Rose but were left staring at a talent that is among the NBA’s best.

“Some of the shots he hit- they were unbelievable,” Trevor Booker said after the game, “I watch him on TV but in person, it’s different. It’s way different. To see some of the things he did- it’s crazy.”

John Wall led the Wizards with 20 points and Nick Young racked up 17, but in the end they were left stung by Rose’s thorn.

“When you are making floaters over seven foot and tough shots like that- nothing you can do but credit a great talent like that,” Wall said.

Patrick Pho

Patrick has been blogging since before it was called blogging. At We Love DC Patrick covers local Theatre, and whatever catches his eye. Patrick’s blog stories, rants, and opinions have been featured in The Washington City Paper, Washington Post Express, CNN, Newschannel 8 Washington, and NBC Washington. See why Patrick loves DC.

You can e-mail him at ppho [at] welovedc.com