The Phoenix Who?  That’s what Vinny Del Negro is asking after last night’s beat down.  Random fact: Since Vinny started coaching the Bulls, they are 3-0 against his former employer.  Anyways, this post is not about Vinny Del Negro, or even the Bulls giving the Suns a spanking.  This is about Derrick Rose’s performance.  Let’s go to the film:

Oh, and did I forget to mention that he agreed to donate $1,000 per point last night to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund? Since he scored 32 points, that is $32,000 for relief.  Not bad.

So back to this whole all-star thing.  Rose is teetering on the edge of his first all-star appearance and he has clearly made his case.  Although the first month of the season he was playing with a nagging ankle injury, he has shown that he belongs among the NBA’s elite RIGHT NOW.  Not in 3 years, not next year, but now.  He is by far the best player on a team full of scrubs and has managed to keep those scrubs in the Eastern playoff race by skill and sheer force of will.  Some idiot writers over at NBA.com think that Rose, Deng, and Noah have a shot next year, but not now.  Deng I agree with, Noah is borderline, but Rose seems like a slam-dunk to make the team.  Obviously it is up to the players to vote on the reserves, but I think Rose’s 19.4 points, 5.9 assists, and 3.8 rebounds on 47% shooting combined with his ability to completely take over games puts him on another level.

We’ll find out soon enough if he gets a spot, but he has definitely earned it.  Want to see the video of his dunk again as it was happening?  Yeah, me too.  Here goes:

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Tags: All-Star, Derrick Rose, Huge Slam