At some point between tipoff Tuesday night in Miami and the moment he stepped to the postgame podium several hours later, LeBron James decided it was time to stop referring to Derrick Rose by name.
Rose was no longer Rose. He was merely "the MVP."
"The MVP has a lot of energy," James said of Rose, who was indeed named the most valuable player in the NBA earlier this month. "I just tried to bring my intensity against him defensively. Our team defense tried to key on him all game."
This was after Game 4, after the Heat had overcome the Bulls with a draining overtime victory. James had outscored Rose, 35 points to 23, and guarding him for most of the night, he held the Bulls' young point guard to 8-of-27 shooting. The Heat went up 3-1 on the Bulls that night, and two nights later back in Chicago, they finished the job.
It's been suggested that LeBron's "MVP" crack was in jest. That perhaps actually, he doesn't see Rose as the top dog in the game today.
And if that's the case, then LeBron is absolutely right. And we just watched a five-game demonstration that all but proved it.
The two went head to head over the last week and a half, and it wasn't even close. Rose carried his team offensively, averaging 23.4 points per game, but he was also pretty lousy in the efficiency department. He shot 42-for-120, or 35 percent. LeBron averaged 25.8 points, and he shot 42-for-94, or just a touch under 44.7.
When they guarded each other, LeBron was too big and too powerful. It was no contest.
LeBron was the more complete player, too. Rose was an isolation scorer and little else; LeBron did everything for his team. He was a passer, he was a rebounder, and he had arguably the best series of his life defensively. Rose was turnover-prone and had lapses defensively.
Rose's mental toughness failed him when it mattered most, as the Bulls coughed up a late double-digit lead to blow Game 5 and lose the series. LeBron, on the other hand, drained consecutive shots with the season on the line, dispelling every anti-clutch criticism he's ever heard.
I know, I know. It's just one series. Anything can happen in a tiny little five-game sample. But the thing is, LeBron was similarly outplaying Rose all year long, just like this. Just no one wanted to admit it.
Rose captivated the basketball world this season because of the narrative. He was the anti-LeBron; the reigning MVP had taken his talents to South Beach and alienated everyone, and the modest young Chicago native son was there to steal our hearts. But he wasn't actually the best player in the league. What he really was was a 22-year-old kid with a lot still to learn.
Derrick Rose is already a very good player. He proved that all year long. But he's not the best, at least not yet, and this postseason only confirmed it.
Who's better, LeBron or Rose? Share your thoughts below.
