The NBA may be a mess with the lockout (now resolved), but weekend warriors are always looking for the latest gear as they head into battle on the court. The new adiZero Rose 2 basketball shoes from Adidas and Derrick Rose offer a badass design as Rose asked that the 3-Stripes be placed toward the heel so defenders would see the iconic Adidas branding as he blasts past them and slam-dunks. The rest of us will settle for some easy layups but you get the picture. The shoes feature a super-lightweight, breathable build and welded sprint frame support. It’s great for serious athletes and the casual ballplayer alike, and either way anyone who wears them will at least look good.

Do your research with some other gift guides around the web for more sports gear and other cool gift ideas. Check out the guides from Esquire and from Active.com.

The Miami Heat are one game away from the NBA Finals after their 101-93 overtime win against Chicago.

The Bulls had their chances in this one, but like the Thunder last night, they just couldn’t get quality looks in crunch time. And for all the (justifiable) criticism that Russell Westbrook has taken over the last couple of weeks, Derrick Rose has really struggled of late, shooting just 33% over the last three games (all losses), including a pretty dreadful 1-for-7, two-turnover effort in the 4th quarter and overtime tonight. He had seven turnovers on the evening.

One could argue that Rose has to play super-aggressive basketball since he doesn’t have someone like Kevin Durant to carry the load, and they’d be right. But the bottom line is that the Bulls aren’t going to win when Rose is only making 33% of his attempts and has more turnovers than assists.

But back to the Heat, who deserve credit for their smothering defense tonight. They forced Rose into all sorts of mistakes and held the Bulls to just 40% shooting from the field.

But the most glaring difference in this game was Mike Miller. He scored 12 points (on 5-of-8 shooting) and gathered nine boards off the bench. He was especially big in the fourth quarter when Miami made its run; he went 4-for-4 (for nine points) to go with three rebounds. That’s the kind of play that Pat Riley envisioned when he signed Miller to a full mid-level deal last summer.

No other Chicago starter scored in double digits, but it doesn’t really matter when your point guard drops 44 points on 16-for-27 shooting like Derrick Rose did in Game 3. Joakim Noah had the Rodman-esque line of two points, 15 rebounds and five blocks, while Carlos Boozer and his turf toe scored six points (on 3-of-6 shooting) in just 22 minutes. Taj Gibson picked up Boozer’s slack, posting 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

Derrick Rose accepted the MVP award in a pregame ceremony and played like a MVP to help the Bulls win Game 2. He didn’t play great, mind you — 25 points on 10-of-27 shooting, 10 assists, six rebounds and eight assists — but he played like the Bulls’ most valuable player. Chicago needs him to score, so he scores. Right now, the Bulls aren’t getting the kind of production they need from Carlos Boozer, who should be an 18/10-type of guy, but is shooting 40% from the field and averaging under 11 points per game in the playoffs.

Joakim Noah was outstanding (19 points, 14 rebounds and three steals), but the Bulls aren’t going to get that kind of scoring production out of him on a nightly basis. Luol Deng (14 points, 12 rebounds) was his steady self, but he’s not good enough offensively to be the Bulls #2 option on that end of the floor.

Based on what I’ve seen of the Bulls this postseason, I don’t see them getting by the Heat in a potential matchup next round. Without solid production from Boozer, they are too dependent on Rose to score and he can’t pour in 30 points every night.

“The way I look at it within myself, why not? Why can’t I be the MVP of the League? Why can’t I be the best player in the League? I don’t see why-why-why can’t I do that? I think I work hard, I think I dedicate myself to the game and sacrifice a lot of things at a young age and I know if I continue to do good, what I can get out of it and if that’s me going out or doing whatever, I’m willing to do it because I know in the long run, it’s going to help me.”

The ad is based on that quote.

Per NBA.com…

Rose totaled 1,182 points including 113 first-place votes, from a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada as well as an NBA MVP fan vote.

Rounding out the top five in voting are Orlando’s Dwight Howard (643 points, three first place), Miami’s LeBron James (522, four first-place votes), the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (428, one first-place vote) and Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant (190).

As I discussed back in early March, I agree with the selection of Rose since he led his team to the league’s best record after losing his team’s second and third best players for big chunks of the season.

I am a little surprised that Dirk Nowitzki didn’t crack the Top 5 in voting, though Kevin Durant is surely a rising star. It’s interesting that Dwight Howard beat out LeBron James and that Dwyane Wade didn’t make the Top 5 at all.