Derrick Rose wasn’t too pleased despite the Chicago Bulls beating the New York Knicks 104-99, despite outplaying Jeremy Lin, like every other premier point guard has, despite finishing with 32 points and 7 assists and the team improving to an NBA best 35-9 record.

Why? Well, first of all, he wasn’t pleased with his shooting performance. Rose shot 12-29 from the field, going all Kobe Bryant on us, taking the most field goal attempts he has all season, four below his career record of 33. He didn’t really like being asked about the fact that he shot so much, but it did lead to another matter – going to the line, and a lack of respect from the referees regarding Rose and the Bulls.

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Derrick Rose – I’ve gotta be the only superstar in the league that’s going through what I’m going through right now. But I can’t say too much about it.

Rose went to the line nine times during the game, making six free throws. He averaged 6.3 free throw attempts per game so far this season. He’s only 15th in the NBA in that category this season, and does probably have a bit of a point regarding not getting enough calls. Maybe not flopping or falling from each touch denies you legitimate whistles, but Rose seemed genuinely upset during the third quarter about too many non-calls.

Carlos Boozer – Yeah, because he’s so strong. He finishes so many plays where he does get contact. Sometimes they let it go, but you can’t let it go all the time. You’ve got to make the call. You saw in the third quarter, you’re just trying to force the issue. He got to the line a bunch in the third quarter. But he could have got to the line maybe 10 times in the first half.

Rose is the MVP, and is on one of the best two teams in the NBA. One of the three legitimate contenders to the NBA title this season. Maybe the Bulls were ‘out of it’ for too long, or maybe it’s in the players’ heads. They should be getting more respect for playing without three of their rotation guys once again – Luol Deng, Rip Hamilton and CJ Watson.

Last season’s 60+ win campaign wasn’t a fluke, and the Bulls are here for the long run. Just like the Miami Heat, just like the Oklahoma City Thunder. They don’t usually play fun-to-watch offensive kind of basketball, but they have their own way of winning.

Offensive boards seems more often than not a great method. The Bulls grabbed 22 offensive rebounds, out-rebounding the Knicks 56-38. Taj Gibson had a bench double double with 15-13 and 8 on the offensive glass. Joakim Noah had another double double with 12-10. For the Knicks, Tyson Chandler was all alone in the paint, grabbing 10 rebounds and scoring 13 points.

The problems were the same. Offense getting stuck, and no defensive effort what so ever. Carmelo Anthony finished with 21 points and Amar’e had 20, a rarity for him lately. Something is amiss with these Knicks, who looked like the happiest bunch in the league when Jeremy Lin broke out and Carmelo was looking from the outside. Lin finished with 15 points and 8 assists, but the Rose experience was another rough defensive night for the point guard.

This might be the match up for the first round in the playoffs, if the Bulls keep the top spot and the Knicks don’t lose too much. According to today, with Rose in this I’m-on-a-mission-attitude, the Knicks would be pleased with one win, but would probably get swept.