From ESPN subscription article by David Aldridge (who else?) --------------------------------------- Scottie. Charles. Together again. This Friday, at a Rose Garden near you. Two months after Charles Barkley said Scottie Pippen owed him an apology for wanting to play for the Lakers, and after Pippen replied that Barkley should apologize to him "for coming down to play with his sorry, fat butt," the Blazers and Rockets hook up. The Blazers are a juggernaut, this league's version of the Yankees, a solely professional outfit that wins dispassionately. They're what the Rockets were supposed to be last season. The Rockets are, um, hurting. Regrets? Pip has but one. "Probably just the way things came out between me and Charles," Pippen said last week. "I looked at it as an opportunity for trying to get out of there and go play in L.A. I wasn't trying to disrupt any relationships, until all that all started, when Charles was saying I owe him and the city an apology. When I spoke with him it was between me and him and it wasn't for public knowledge at that time." In Portland, Pippen has rediscovered his game. Found his defensive wingspan, which makes easy entry impossible. Found his sorties to the basket, which were run to such devastating effect in Chicago. Found his ballhandling skills. Found his voice for a team that craved leadership after imploding against the Spurs in the Western Conference finals. Found a policeman in the locker room for coach Mike Dunleavy. "With Steve (Smith) and Scottie, I think Mike, he probably trusts them a little bit more than he did with J.R. and Jimmy," Damon Stoudamire says, referring to the players in the Steve Smith deal, Isaiah Rider and Jimmy Jackson. "He's allowed them to be more vocal. And sometimes, he doesn't have to coach as much. It's almost like we're coaching ourselves." It is as if last season didn't happen. Did Pippen play in Houston, looking lost? Was that just a figment of his imagination? Was it like the season of "Dallas" that Pam Ewing dreamed? Rudy Tomjanovich tried to find ways to get him involved, but the results were the same -- Hakeem and Barkley posting up. In Portland, Pippen is a top-50 player again. "I'm not just standing out there, feeling like I'm in isolation, waving for the ball, just spotting up," Pippen said. "I've got opportunities to cut. I've got guys here that can step off the post, which opens up the lane and gives us the ability to create shots for one another. In Houston, they didn't really give me those opportunities, things that I've sort of characterized my game after my whole career. Being able to be a guy that can catch, shoot, pass, create shots. When you've got Charles and Dream each on the block, it's hard to get to the lane, because the defenders are just standing there waiting for you." But Tomjanovich kept saying that he was doing things to free Pippen up, that Pippen wasn't just throwing the ball in and spotting up. "Did you watch the games?" Pippen snorts. "They all looked the same to me. When he says he was trying to do things, I don't understand ... I told him I didn't care for the 3-point shot. I told him I'd shoot it, but it's not my forte, standing out there shooting threes." So far, everything is working. The Blazers had six guys score 11 points in Orlando, "and nobody b****ed about it," Smith said. Even if Dunleavy thinks his '91 Lakers team is better than this bunch -- "Magic Johnson, Byron Scott, James Worthy, Vlade Divac, Elden Campbell coming off the bench," he said -- this group will have to prove itself in June, deep in the heat of the playoffs. Last year, the Blazers ripped off their shirts after winning a measly second-round series against Utah. That won't happen this time around. "We're just trying to help the young guys grow, get them going in the right direction," Pippen said. "We realize that every little bit of success is going to be a lot of fun for them, but we can't let it soak in yet. Ultimately, we have to try to achieve our goals." ------------------ Clutch Out to prove Scottie Pippen will apologize at gunpoint. www.clutchcity.net
Stupid Bum still jacks lots of threes in Portland. He played like poo tonight on TBS vs. the T-Wolves. The only two shots he hit were 3's I think.
What?!?! I hate Scottie Pippen for the way he quit on this team, but have you been watching any Blazers games this season? He is absolutely holding his own defensively, setting picks, creating for others. I am in no way defending Scottie Pippen, but you can't take away what he has brought to that Portland squad this season.
That's what I thought. Thanks. Stoudamire played terrific tonight, did you see it. That little guy is so unbelievably over looked and underrated. He plays with so much damn heart. Sczerbiak I also liked alot. If you saw any of last years NCAA tourney, you had to realize just how savy this kid can be. Combine those good fundamentals with some size and desire, I think he's very similar to Googs but could be better.
Cabbage, yea we all know, don't remind us. I still think with or without the guy they would still be rolling right now. But he just gives them another big tool.
Cabbage, When your right...your right...and your right! Even though I hate to admit it! Just seems Portland has too may tools! Paul Allen seems to have become George Steinbrenner. Guess you've got to put your money somwhere before the government gets it's hands on it!
What boneheads. I don't see a big improvement in his stats. Can anyone else figure out what the h*ll David and Squeek talking about. YEAR MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DFF TOT 98-99 Hou 40.2 .432 .340 .721 1.3 5.2 6.5 99-00 Por 34.3 .508 .296 .600 1.3 5.0 6.3 APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 5.9 1.96 0.74 3.2 2.4 14.5 4.7 1.00 1.00 2.6 2.4 13.5
And he is putting up the same numbers in 6 less minutes. Also factor in that he hardly gets any touches up there with guys like Stoudamire, Smith, Wallace, and Grant demanding looks. This year, he has scored most of his points, off the ball, something that he did throughout his career in Chicago, and an ability Rudy T failed to realize.
That portland team was good to begin with in the first place. If they didn't have Pip, they still would be where they are right now. (Its the starting backcourt and the starting and backup powerforward postions that make them so good) Im glad that we traded him and acquired some good young players. If we had him I don't think we would be much better, not with hakeem and charles posting up (or at least as he so b****es). Though EVERYTHING clutch has to say I agree with, I hope Scottie continues to do well except when he plays us. If we would have gotten nothing for him ( cato and rogers are something to me) then I would have been a sicko and wished a torn acl and a serious outbreak of herpes to befall upon him. Our record does not indicate our potential that we will tap into very soon so I'm still optimistic. What can I say, I love this team. ------------------ GO ROCKETS!!!!!!!!
Scottie Pippen is a b**** no matter what, his lack of defense and couldn't hit an open shot last year can't be explained by the system. He can only thrive in smooth water, with guys of wild talents to back him up, not in adversity if I have to derive a conclusion about him.
All I have to say is this: Last year, coming in, Pippen wanted to be Mr. "Point Forward" handling the ball most of the time, getting the offense going. When he was given that opportunity, he failed miserably. I'll admit that he was spotting up a lot, etc... But the man scored big on any given night that he just went out and tried, because he had the ball first most of the time. The problem last year was that Pippen was trying to be something he's not: a main player on the team. But, what we all found out is that he is probably the best ROLE PLAYER in the league. Not a mainstay, though. But, he found a way to make it look like Barkley and Olajuwon's fault. In Portland, he doesn't have to handle the ball (I guess he learned his lesson in Houston, because he's not asking to be "Point Forward" anymore) and he can do exactly what he did in Chicago -- be a great role player filling in the holes that the stars on the team are leaving out. Basically it boils down to this: Pippen tried to be the man, couldn't be the man, but has found a way to make everyone think he's the man anyway... Get it? Now, he's right back where he was before... On a team that would be just about as good without him, yet he gets to take credit. Smart dude, if you ask me.
Right, which are things he could have also done here with a little bit of effort... especially defensively. That was always my biggest gripe about Quitten - he may have been a bad fit for the Rox offense, but he wasn't getting it done on the other end of the court either. I could cut him some slack and buy the argument that he shouldn't be expected to stand around and be a spot-up shooter, but the offense had nothing to do with the fact that so many guys had so many career nights against Quitten. To me, that suggests not a 'system' problem, but a Scottie problem.
This is really funny.... I love David Aldridge... What a true basketball mind? Who hired this idiot to write about basketball??? "In Portland, Pippen is a top-50 player again." What he meant was: "In Portland, Pippen is a top-50 ROLE PLAYER again."
A Day in the Life of The 1999 Houston Rockets By $cottie Quittin' Rudy: Ok, $cottie, I want you to bring the ball upcourt and throw it into Dream. He's gonna be double teamed and then he'll throw it back out to you for an open three pointer. Oh and $cottie, I know you're a ****ty 3-point shooter but I want you to jack it up anyway. $cottie: But coach, if I just take a step or two in I got the shot. Rudy: I don't give a damn what you think. I know you're more of a slasher but I'm going to make you shoot the three pointer anyway. Charles: Yeah, you heard him you punk. Maybe if you miss it nobody will realize that it's really my fault we're down 2-1 against the Lakers. Dickerson throws the ball in to Quittin' who brings it up court and passes it to Hakeem down low. Olajuwon is double-teamed so he throws it back out to a nervous Quittin'. Rudy: Don't even think about taking a step or two in! I want you to shoot that three now!!! Quittin' misses the shot. $haq rebounds and Reid dunks on the other end. Rudy and Charles snicker at Quittin' as they know who's really going to blamed for the Rockets' failure. --------------------------------------- Anybody else find this story just a little too hard to believe? ------------------ WE WILL WATCH THEM FALL. [This message has been edited by AntiSonic (edited November 25, 1999).]
I hate pippen to, but he does have one good point. Rudy was not able to integrate him into the rockets offense and so pippen was lost on the court, but that still doesn't make up for his behavior for the franchise. In my opinion, i think we should have gotten either rasheed wallace, or brian grant out of that deal. Instead we got walt williams who is even more lost than pippen was.
Grendel...Kinda hard to set a pick and create for others when your coach doesn't have a pick in his playbook. As far as the defensive aspect goes. Rudy's teams have been bad at D for at least 3 or 4 years. Ill put part of the blame on Pippen, but also part on a team that forced him to leave his man alot to play help D. Cabbage...Ive watched the Portland Wool Blends 4 times now. I see a great difference in Pipps game. Biggest one is utilization of his skills. Instead of standing around at the 3 point line, he's constantly in motion. Ive got a question. Do you guys think that the Rox would be 3-10 (with wins only against a shaqless, Kobeless, Lakers; A Maverick team that a week earlier withot missing 5 players kick their asses, and a utterly pitiful Warriors team) with a starting lineup of Hak Chuck Pipp Anderson Francis???
