Wait, that Vinny Del Negro?

Wow. Yes, this blog is devoted mostly to opinions on the sports endeavors of Motown, but today, I feel compelled to make an exception, because that Bulls-Celtics game last night was fucking ridiculous.

Of course, we must first give credit to the players on both sides for this great series. Ben Gordon, Ray Allen, Derrick Rose, and Rajon Rondo have been nothing short of transcendent. But really, we need to give credit for last night's game to one man: Vincent Joseph Del Negro. Yes, that's right, the man who brought Uncle Jessie-style haircuts to the NBA. If anybody but Vinny Del Negro is coaching this Bulls team, this series probably never makes it to Game 6 and Game 6 damn sure never makes it to triple overtime. Derrick Rose could get to the hole whenever he wanted, and for some reason, throughout the series, especially during the overtimes last night, Del Negro refuses to realize that the Celtics cannot stop Rose from beating his man off the dribble and scoring or creating for a teammate. In the first half, the Bulls took the lead because Rose was slicing the Celtics defense to ribbons, scoring and distributing at will. This seemed to work for the Bulls, but for some reason, as the game wore on, Rose ceased to be the focal point of the offense. At first, this made sense, Ben Gordon is the best clutch scorer on the team, of course he should be getting the majority of the offensive touches in crunch time. But then Gordon fouled out. One would think that this would cue the arrival of Rose as the go-to offensive player, but alas, Mr. Del Negro thought that John Salmons (who actually had a really nice game), Brad Miller (ugliest man in the NBA?), and Kirk Hinrich were all better options. How can someone who sees Derrick Rose play ON A DAILY BASIS not realize that there is nobody on the Celtics that can guard him! Eventually, Rose just took it upon himself to ensure victory for Chicago, with his Stretch Armstrong-esque block of Rondo on the Celtics second-to-last possession.

All in all, as much as Vinny has driven me crazy, he has ensured that this series is going to a Game 7 and he was invaluable comedic tool in NBA Jam. You will always have a place in my heart...