The only thing that surprises me is that Pip would come right out and say it. Axeman, I believe you hit it on the head. As much as he thought he could be, Pip will never be the man.
Cabbage: ...so changing one's shooting percentage from 43% to 50%, (after going to a dominant team like Portland) means the difference between a decent role player and a top 50 all time? How about a 3 who shoots .296 from LD, assists and steals down. That's top 50 ALL TIME!? ...for crying out loud. As far as adjusting for minutes played, lets be realistic, how productive was Squeek in the last 5 minutes of his 40 minutes stretches last year? [This message has been edited by Cohen (edited November 25, 1999).]
Pippen did improve a lot from last year, there is no point in arguing that, Hakeem puts up similar numbers as Pippen's this year and he is still a great player. After giving him credit, spare me a while to find my voodoo doll for Pippen in tommorow's game.
What gripes me the most about Pippen as how he looks at his leaving as an opportunity rather than as quitting. He has no conscience. People like that are scary. In a small way, I feel sorry for him cus he does not know how to be true to even himself but mostly I hate him for what he did to us. Basically, I agree with Axeman. Pippen wants to be known as the man WITHOUT HAVING TO BE THE MAN. I think he failed to be the man here, losing his only opportunity to prove he didn't just ride Jordan's coattails. He will never have the opportunity again. But that is how he wants it because he NEVER COULD BE THE MAN, it's not in him. He is lazyminded and wants it easy, but yes he does want the credit. I think he has lost respect around the league and history should not call him a leader. As Ketchup, I would have liked a starter for Pippen but I guess Rudy got what he could for him. Wish we could have sent him to Golden State, lol. As Grenchel, he had no defense with us and he can't blame Rudy for that. Defense is simple. Glen Rice lit him up. GO ROCKETS! TAKE PIPPEN'S LUCK AND WHIP THE TRAILBLAZERS WITH IT!
Axeman, I have to mention I don't think Pippen is smart. JUST LUCKY. He wasn't happy here, Phil Jackson came back and he saw a back door. We traded him to a good team. He is just lucky. If anyone but the Portland fans give him credit for the Trailblazers success, I would be surprised. If he were smart, he would have researched the teams he was considering playing for last year to make sure it was a system he liked. No brainer. Instead, lazy as he is, he let Charles Barkley talk him into a decision. How did Charles do that anyway? He's the smart one. And Chuck took the high road in this situation with Quitten Pippen. GO ROCKETS. SQUASH BIG FOOT!
I've said it before and I'll say it again : Pippen was wrong for what he said and just wanting to get out of here like he did. However, you don't bring a guy like him in here to stand around and dump the ball into the post. I don't like the guy, but I'm with Cabbagehead on this one... he's helping make Portland better. His stats have improved (mostly) on less minutes and on a team LOADED TO THE HILT with talent where he's going to see fewer touches. That team took advantage of his talent... it is a team designed to have a Pippen on it. Shandon Anderson was having the same problem when he first got here... I rarely saw the guy slash much until the Dallas game. Maybe now Rudy is allowing Hakeem and Barkley to "unclog" themselves from that damn lane. Anyway... in conclusion... Pippen was right about the offense being a "dump-it-in" offense that rarely took advantage of his talents other than when he brought the ball up the court. He was a jackass in the way he handled it, however. ------------------ Rocket fuel pumps through these veins...
Speaking of the Portland game...did anyone see the Port/Minn game. Do they have a swarming defense, or did Garnett just have a bad game? By my estimation...that makes the Trailblazers 2-2 in close games. Keep an eye on whether they can find a goto guy. Remember, that was their problem last year. Not a very good record against the best. thanks for input from anyone who saw the game!
Yeah I saw the game it was pretty good. Pippen got lucky on that last three, all of balance, then he swung his body around and tried to make it look like he meant to shoot it all off balance. Good game though. Then I heard the commercial:"Wednesday on the Superstation; Penny Hardaway and Jason Kidd take on Steve Francis and the retool Rockets." That really felt bad. ------------------ "Not NOW, Cato!!!" -Kevin Calabro, Sonics Commentator
Portland had a great defense, but when you have as much talent as Portland has, you can throw 4 or 5 good players at Garnett. That's what they did. I've never seen Garnett as tired as he was at the end of that game... I used to wonder if the guy EVER got tired. Minnesota was just asking him to do too much against the Portland All-Stars. ------------------ Rocket fuel pumps through these veins...
TDS99: A lineup of Francis, Anderson, Barkley, and Olajuwon would probably be 10-3. BUT, the bottom line still is that Pippen had to go. We can dwell on what could have been for as long as we want, but the man just had to go. He was causing problems, and we should be happy to get out from under that ridiculous contract of his. Guys, I am in no way defending Quitten. All I am saying is that we might hate him, but don't try and change the story around to make it look like Pippen isn't helping the Blazers or it was his fault here in Houston. He was right about the system, but he reacted in a wrong way, and he simply had to go. As for the argument that Portland would be just as good without him...uh uh, no way. What Scottie is doing for that team is simply filling in the holes so that the other players can concentrate on their games. He is doing all the little things to make everyone else's job easier. He is acting as a utility man. Rasheed Wallace and other big guys wouldn't be playing nearly as good if it weren't for Pip helping out on D, grabbing loose boards, and letting them focus on offense. Stoudamire and Smith wouldn't be allowed to freelance on offense if they didn't know that Pip would be there to help trap their men on defense. I am in no way defending this guy. He handled the situation in a very immature manner and proved to us all that he is a quitter. With that said, he was right, he just didn't express it correctly.
All that I am saying is he does not play like an ALL TIME TOP 50. The onus was on him to show that he could earn the moniker without MJ around. He failed in Chicago, Houston, and is simply a good 'hole-filler' in a team full of up-and-coming stars. He still has the potential...I don't know why he falls short and I hoestly don't care. I just wish the our team didn't get dragged into his failed experiment. Go Rockets! and Happy Thanksgving to ALL!
I agree with what you are saying, thacabbage. Despite how immature Pip handled his situation in Houston, he looks more correct every game. And Rudy isn't helping the situation any. Our players are griping about the stand-still offense and after the last game Anderson was even talking about how much better signing with Dallas would have been for his game. The complaints of today are the same ones Pip had last year. Bottom line: Pip has a coach that knows how to use him.
Cabbage and JeffB. I agree with both of you on Pippen. One thing I need to add is that some of the fans in Houston just make me sick, their looser alike over-reaction, failure to put things behind and uncontrolable b****ing in the media give Houston and we Houstonians a bad image. Yea, like we can't function without Pip. Why can't we just be strong and say: "please don't let the door hit you, mr.vPippen", then be done with it. All these talk about wanting Chuck to give Pippen a body slam or a Spree Choke is upsetting me. But I guess I have to tolerate their feeling, even though it is much looser like.
Francis 3....Your First Post: "That stupid b****. Proves to everyone what kind of person he is. " One Word.... "Amen" Amen Brother, Rock the Vote, GG ------------------ "Excuse me while I kiss the sky....." - Steve Francis
First, Pippen isn't playing any better statisticly than he did in Houston. He is playing less minutes, assisting his teammates less, hitting fewer threes, stealing the ball less and hitting many fewer free throws. The only thing he is really doing better is hitting a few more shots. Now that being said the Blazers are rolling right now. Maybe he was right. Maybe he wasn't. It doesn't matter at this point because he doesn't play for the Rockets. The point is they are winning regardless of how his stats look and we aren't. ------------------ There is no offense without a good defense.
How much do I hate Pippen? Well, when the Lakers play the Blazers, I will be hoping for Kobe Bryant to score 50 on his b****ass. And if they meet in the playoffs...I will be rooting HARD for the Lakers. Or if they meet the Jazz, I will be rooting for Karl and his elbows. Now, that is hate! ------------------ Live Rocketball. Breathe Rocketball. Die with Rocketball.
Caveman: Sorry, that post wasn't directed at you as it may look like right now. It was a response to "houstoncougars" but it looks like he deleted his post after I replied. Sorry for any confusion.
