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Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith discuss whether LeBron James is the best player in the NBA since Michael Jordan.

NEW YORK -- LeBron James doesn't want to hear anything about an asterisk.

With a rash of injuries across the NBA and several playoff teams crippled because of it, there has been some talk that this might be remembered as a tainted season because of last year's lockout. There was some stigma attached to the last lockout season in 1998-99.


For years Phil Jackson referred to the San Antonio Spurs title that year as having an asterisk attached to it because of the circumstances of that shortened season.

The mere mention of that fired up James on Saturday as the Heat had a practice at Madison Square Garden. The Heat will look to close out the New York Knicks Sunday in Game 4.

"I don't think that's right to say," James said. "I'm not going to get involved in it. Every team works hard no matter if it's a lockout year or not. There's not much of a difference between 82 games and 66 games."

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Chicago Bulls guard John Lucas III wouldn't say Miami Heat forward LeBron James is a flopper, but he did sense theatrical embellishment on James' part to Tyson Chandler's screen on Saturday.

The reason it caught Lucas' attention was because James set an equally punishing screen on Lucas on April 19 in Miami. No foul was called on the screen, but the 5-11, 165-pound Lucas had to be kept from going after the 6-8, 250-pound James. Lucas and James -- who after the game said "I knew I had him" -- both received technicals, which prompted James to yell "For what?"

"I thought he threw his left shoulder into me a little bit, and then I look up and Tyson Chandler set a clean screen on him, and he took it like he just got shot," Lucas said Wednesday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "You got to get back up.

"All that like your neck is hurt, that isn't cool."

Chandler was called for a Flagrant 2 foul that was downgraded to a Flagrant 1 in the New York Knicks' Game 1 loss. ESPN analyst and former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said during the broadcast that he didn't think it was a flagrant foul at all.

Lucas was asked if James is a flopper.

"If that's what you want to say, I don't know," Lucas said. "I just watch the game of basketball like everyone else watches the game of basketball. I feel like when you set a screen like that on somebody, you're taking the risk of hurting that person. For him, I felt he threw his left shoulder. I let him know that wasn't going to fly with me."

Lucas and James had a little history before the screen. Lucas hit a shot over James on March 14 and had some words for the two-time MVP as Lucas' 24 points sparked the Bulls to victory.

With Derrick Rose out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL, Lucas again had to step up in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals on Tuesday as he scored 15 points off the bench. But the Philadelphia 76ers evened the series with a 109-92 victory.

Without Rose, it will take an impressive effort for Lucas and the Bulls to get a rematch with James and the Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.

"I want to get there, because I feel like we have unfinished business from last year," Lucas said. "Me and LeBron, that's nothing for me, I'm more about winning and getting to the championship."

Scottie Pippen said Friday he believes LeBron James eventually will surpass Michael Jordan as the third-great scorer in NBA history, but he wouldn't stand by a statement he made last year when he said James may be the greatest player ever.

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MIAMI -- Here’s a quick look at how the Miami Heat earned an 83-72 win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night at American Airlines Arena.

How it happened: Playing without Derrick Rose (ankle, foot) for the 26th time this season, the Bulls could not find any offense. They shot just 36 percent from the field and struggled to find any consistency. John Lucas III led the Bulls with 16 points off the bench, Joakim Noah added 15 points and 10 rebounds and Luol Deng chipped in with 11 points. The Bulls now lead the Heat by just one game in the loss column for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

What it means: All teams look tired during this lockout-shortened season, but playing their fourth game in five nights caught up to the Bulls. Not only was Miami's defense strong from start to finish, the Bulls looked gassed. Aside from the fatigue, the other major problem for the Bulls is that they got basically nothing from their starting backcourt. Richard Hamilton and C.J. Watson combined to go just 1-for-9 from the field. Lucas and Deng combined to go 10-for-31 and Carlos Boozer did not bring much to the table. Boozer struggled on both ends of the floor 10 points and five rebounds in 23 minutes.

With the uncertain status regarding Rose and his ankle, the Bulls have to find a better way to produce offensively. They will not be able to play like this and get through the postseason if Rose can't return to being the player he was before he got hurt.

Bold play of the game: LeBron James' performance early set the tone in this one. He scored 15 points in the first quarter and was able to open up the floor for the rest of his teammates. The Bulls had no answer for him.

Stats of the night: The Heat out-rebounded the Bulls 45-40 and outscored them 36-20 in the paint. The Bulls went just 2-for-16 from beyond the arc.

What's next: The Bulls have a day off Friday. They will play the Dallas Mavericks Saturday night.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bulls did more than just beat the Miami Heat on Thursday night. They dealt a blow to their psyche.

And that could be more valuable down the line than virtually wrapping up home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs, as the Bulls did with their 96-86 overtime win at the United Center.

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CHICAGO -- Here's a quick look at how the Chicago Bulls earned a 96-86 overtime win over the Miami Heat on Thursday night at the United Center:

How it happened: C.J. Watson had one of his most impressive games as a Bull, scoring 16 points with nine assists in place of an ineffective Derrick Rose. The Bulls' Bench Mob is the reason they won. Taj Gibson had 11 points with five rebounds, and Kyle Korver added 17 points. Carlos Boozer set the early tone, and finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

What it means: The Bulls' Bench Mob deserves all the credit in this one, but the main storyline will be Rose's struggles. After sitting out Tuesday night's game because of an ankle injury, Rose came back and looked very rusty. In one of the worst games of his career, Rose went 1-for-13 from the field and scored just two points. Obviously, Rose has to get back in rhythm, given he missed most of March because of a groin injury, but it looks like he is still struggling with both injuries. He was very frustrated throughout the game and on the bench. Coach Tom Thibodeau made the right decision to stick with Watson down the stretch. In almost every other case, Rose should be on the floor, but Watson had the hot hand and Rose was so ice cold that he made the decision easier for his coach.

Aside from Rose's struggles, the Bulls have to feel great about pulling out a win in this one. They basically did it without an effective Rose and Joakim Noah, who came out midway through the third quarter and didn't return until the end of overtime when Gibson fouled out. The Bulls' defense stepped up when it had to, and shut down LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in overtime. The Heat thought they had stolen one, but the Bulls pulled it right back in the end. In the process, they all but locked up the No. 1 seed in the East. They are up three games in the loss column with seven to play.

Stat of the night: The Bulls' bench outscored the Heat's bench 47-7.

Bold play of the game: With his team trailing by three late, Watson knocked down a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime.

What's next: The Bulls have a day off Friday before taking on the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.

Charles Barkley believes the Eastern Conference finals will be an entertaining and competitive series, but he's convinced there will be a new team advancing to the NBA Finals this year.

"I thought the (Bulls' win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday) with Rip Hamilton playing well was a great sign," Barkley said Wednesday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "I really think they're the best team in the East.

"When they play Miami, it's going to be a knock-down, drag-out ..."

The Heat beat the Bulls in five games in last year's conference finals before falling to the Dallas Mavericks. The Bulls and Heat split two games so far in the regular season and play again at the United Center on Thursday.

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Bulls excel in spot-up situations

NEXT LEVEL: The Bulls made 10 of 19 3-pointers Wednesday, including 8 of 12 on spot-up plays. For the season, the Bulls average fewer than four made 3-pointers a game on spot-up plays. John Lucas, who finished with a team-high 24 points, made three of his four 3-point attempts on spot-up plays.

James excels inside, Bosh struggles outside

NEXT LEVEL: LeBron James made 8 of his 9 field-goal attempts from 10 feet and in. Chris Bosh made just one of his 10 shots from outside three feet.

Wade gets going in pick-and-roll

NEXT LEVEL: Dwyane Wade made 10 of 12 shots in the second half, including all five of his shots as a pick-and-roll ball handler. For the game, Wade was 7 for 8 for 14 points as a pick-and-roll ball handler. Wade averages about three points per game on such plays the season.

CHICAGO -- Joakim Noah sat inside of his locker beaming like a proud parent after Wednesday night's 106-102 win over the Miami Heat.

He wasn't surprised with how well John Lucas III played. He was inspired.

"Lukey!" Noah explained. "I'm proud of Lukey, man. That's my son. So I'm proud of my son."

In place of Derrick Rose, who sat out the game because of a groin injury, and C.J. Watson, who was hobbled most of the night because of an ankle injury, the seldom-used point guard scored 24 points and helped give the Bulls the confidence they needed against the big, bad Heat.

Lucas’ play was a boost Noah and his teammates knew they could get from the smallest man on the team.

"I was proud of my son tonight," Noah said. "He came out with a lot of energy and I just like his style out there; he was tough from the start and it got us all going. It wasn't just his scoring. His swag out there was mean and I liked it."

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CHICAGO -- A handful of reporters clustered around the Miami Heat locker room, but the scene was far subdued from the bygone days of 2011.

Chris Bosh stared at his iPad, wearing giant headphones. Dwyane Wade sat and talked to a friendly Chicago reporter about the Bears. LeBron James sat at a locker and listened to loud rap music, sans headphones, with a plastic bottle of ketchup at his feet.

No one bothered them.

Of course, that’s because the so-called “Big Three” have a policy of not speaking to the media before games, just at the morning shoot-around. And since shootarounds are often canceled this season, that takes the hype down a few notches.

“We’re just trying to go out and play basketball,” forward Udonis Haslem said. “Last year the majority of conversations were about us, and it’s kind of hard to get used to sometimes, but I think we’ve kind of settled in.”

But the Heat still get booed wherever they go, and they did Wednesday night at the United Center. LeBron James got booed louder than any opponent this season.

“People still dislike us,” Haslem said with a chuckle.

The Bulls have been open and honest about chasing the Heat this season. The loss in the Eastern Conference finals still stings.

"To beat them you've got to play almost a perfect game," Derrick Rose said Tuesday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000.

The Bulls had a 2 1/2 game lead in the East going into the teams’ second matchup. So Haslem, the Heat mainstay, doesn’t see it like that.

“No, we don’t look at it as they’re chasing us,” he said. “We look at as they’re the best team in the NBA right now with the best record. They’ve got the reigning MVP. They’re very physical, very good and mentally tough.”

Haslem was surprised when a reporter told him Rose was out -- “Are you sure?” he asked --ut he didn’t think that would make it easy.

"They’ve won without him this year,” he said. “I’ve been watching them closely and those guys have competed without Derrick Rose.”

“Derrick’s an unbelievable player and we have a lot of respect for him, but this team is more than Derrick Rose,” forward Shane Battier said. “They don’t have the best record in the league with just Derrick Rose.”

Battier missed the media circus last season, but unlike Haslem, this kind of attention, however muted, is something new for the erudite Duke grad.

“It’s been dynamic, it’s been dynamic,” Battier said. “It’s been interesting. It’s been a good change for me at this point in my career. It’s a fun challenge.”

Derrick Rose said the Chicago Bulls will have to play a "perfect game" to beat the Miami Heat in their second regular season meeting on Wednesday in Chicago, and he looks forward to the challenge of being guard by LeBron James.

The Bulls, whose eight-game winning streak was snapped last week by the Orlando Magic, have won two in a row since and sport the NBA's best record at 35-9. The 31-9 Heat have won three in a row heading into their game against the Magic on Tuesday in Orlando.

"To beat them you've got to play almost a perfect game," Rose said Tuesday on "The Waddle &Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "All your guys have to be on the same page, play hard and really play defense throughout the whole game because they've got so many people who can affect the game, even the guys who don't score like [Joel] Anthony, [Mario] Chalmers and [Udonis] Haslem ... They're definitely a hard team to play against."

The Heat beat the Bulls 97-93 in January, the latest in a string of close games between the teams. The past four regular season games between the East powers have been decided by an average of three points.

Aside from his team's matchup, Rose is looking forward to the challenge of playing against LeBron James, who had success defending Rose in the Eastern Conference finals last season.

"It's going to be fun," Rose said. "If you know anything about me you know I'm willing to take any challenge. For him to be sticking me shows respect, and all I can do is go out there and try to win that game and play smart."

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Derrick Rose joined "Waddle & Silvy to discuss his criticism of the officiating against the Knicks, Dwight Howard and beating the Heat.



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ORLANDO, Fla. -- Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose has always talked about the respect he has for Miami Heat superstar LeBron James, so it came as no surprise that Rose appreciated James’ recent statement that Rose has “evolved” the point guard position.

"That means a lot coming from LeBron," Rose said Sunday afternoon. "Someone that's been in this league a very long time and has played great in this league for a long time. And that's just the way I play. If I elevated it or whatever I did to it, it's because of the way that I play and the confidence I have in myself. When I came in [to the league] and all I was trying to do was just trying to get better and trying to win. I guess it's going my way right now."

During Friday's All-Star media session, James was one of several superstars who discussed Rose's growth. Like many, James is looking forward to playing with Rose during Sunday night's All-Star Game.

"It's amazing, honestly," James said on Friday afternoon. "Derrick has definitely evolved the point guard position. He's doing it; him and Russell [Westbrook] are two guys with speed, athleticism, can score, can pass, can jump, can do everything at the point guard position. I think D-Rose, from end-to-end, is probably one of the fastest, quickest guys that we have with the ball in our game. It's always exciting to get out there with him."

That was also the word Rose used to explain playing with James, the man he's developed a rivalry with over the past few years.

"Exciting, hopefully," Rose said. "Where he's going to have the ball in his hand a majority of the time, I am a majority of the time, too. Hopefully we can get this win."

For Rose, a victory would cap off a weekend that became huge before he even set foot on the floor. On Friday, Rose signed a deal with adidas, reported to be worth more than $200 million dollars, that should keep him in the company's shoe until his career ends.

Rose, who became the youngest MVP in league history last season at age 22, and who has talked in recent years about how he's struggled at times with the adjustment into super-stardom, admitted that all the extra attention that comes his way is easier to handle now.

"It's way more easier," he said. "It's definitely easier. But all this doesn't do anything but make me more hungry. I'm different [because] the reason I work so hard is because I don't want people to forget me. I don't know what it would feel like if I just walked somewhere and people just forgot about me. I don't know how to explain it."

While Rose tried to downplay the fact that other players around the league may be jealous of his accomplishments at such a young age, he did acknowledge that he handles himself and his business differently than some players.

"I wouldn't say [they] ‘look up to me,’" he said of some of his colleagues. "But they can tell that I'm genuine, that I'm myself. I'm not trying to be like anyone else. If you mess with me, it's because you know that I'm just real. Where I don't fake anything. You know that I'm just a quiet person. And a hard-working individual."

Even at 23, Rose understands that those are some of the qualities that set him apart.

"Yeah, I think so," he said. "[I] just try to work, man. Where God gave me an ability. I'm never satisfied. I think what's keeping me going is knowing that all this can definitely go away. And I wouldn't know how to feel if I didn't have it."

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose admitted on Friday afternoon that his team is still learning how to play as a favorite after spending most of last season being viewed as an underdog.

"It's different this year," Rose said. "Where last year no one [knew] us like that. Or wasn't prepared for us before games. But now it's more fun, I'd say. Where every arena you go to, people are rooting against you. And people are there to see you lose. It's definitely fun for me when I'm out there ... You definitely have to be prepared. You're getting everybody's best game every single night."

After falling to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals last season, Rose believes that the Bulls have a legitimate shot to win a championship this year because they've learned from past experiences.

"I think we've been through a lot," Rose said. "Where in the first year where we had Thibs, and the year that he came, we made it kind of far. I think it made us stronger as a team. And hopefully we could use that to get further this year ... I think that last year, everything was just new for us. Where getting past the first round was new. Getting past the [second] round was new. Getting to the Eastern Conference finals, everything was just new for us and we've never been in a situation like that. And I think that's definitely going to help us with this year knowing that what type of team that we have. We only added two people, that's Rip Hamilton and Jimmy Butler. So I think that everybody's more comfortable this year."

When asked specifically about what it will take to beat the Miami Heat this time around, Rose acknowledged it will be a tall task. While he didn't come right out and say it, he realizes that in order to win an NBA championship this season, his team must figure out a way to beat the Heat.

"To beat them is definitely tough," Rose said. "A tough task. Especially to beat them through a whole series. But you have to almost play a complete game. Where they're very hard to go against defensively. Offensively, you already know that they're great. But you just got to have confidence. Your team definitely has got to have confidence when you go out there and play them guys."

For his part, Heat star LeBron James acknowledged that the Bulls are definitely on Miami's radar. The difference obviously being that Miami never enjoyed flying under the radar the way the Bulls did for the majority of last season.

"We don't discount any team," James said. "Barring injuries, hopefully we're there. We want to continue to play our game. We have guys here. But the Bulls is definitely a team that we respect a lot."

In order to get past Miami, Rose believes his team must continue to play with the kind of edge it has struggled to keep at times this season. While sitting out with 10 games because of various injuries already this season, Rose noted that he's learned how why his team has struggled at times early in the year, despite that the fact that they have one of the league's best records at 27-8.

"We've got to start off good," Rose said. "I think we're a team where if we start off sluggish, that's the way we're going to play throughout the whole game, probably until like the fourth quarter. But when we start off the game pretty good, that's the way that we're going to play throughout the whole game. Going out there and being aggressive in the first quarter, I think that's how I'm leading my team to wins. Just letting them know that I'm out there playing hard and they just try to follow my lead."

Rose believes that if he can set the right pace, his Bulls can get to the next level this season. He can see how comfortable his teammates are together on the floor, and he knows that they are growing into a new role as a proverbial favorite. It's a step that every team must take in order to become a championship caliber team year after year and Rose is just trying to enjoy the ride while he can.

"This year I think we're way more comfortable," he said. "Our goal is to definitely try to win a championship. But with the way Thibs has us playing and everything, everybody's familiar with each other. We added one more piece to our team. And we're just trying to get better every single game. We're still not a 48 minute team. That's something that we're trying to get to, but it's going to take a lot of time to get there."