Pippen is not even in the same league as far as scoring is concerned with Lebron however Pip makes it up with defensive tenacity, making timely plays on either ends of the floor and a semi-reliable post game. Pippen > Lebron
Pippen and Lebron had very different beginnings in basketball. Lebron has heard about how great he is since before he got to high school. He's been 'the man' on every team, he knows he's got to be Michael Jordan to live up to his own and other people's expectations. Even if Lebron's personality is better suited to be the creator and not the finisher, his upbringing will not allow him to just sit back. Pippen didn't get any notice as a basketball player until he grew 6 inches one summer. He went to a small college and got drafted to the team with MJ. His role was clear from the beginning, he is meant to be a sidekick. He had the perfect personality for that role and accepted it. I believe Lebron would accept being Pippen to Wade's MJ, but Nike and his support team are telling him that he needs to be MJ.
The real issue wasn't Lebron or Wade, it's that they were playing 3 on 10, hence why Riley never expected to win it in the first year
I 100% agree with Kerr. Lebron is I think very very similar to Pippen. As mentioned above, Lebron is NOT a natural shooter... And he prefers to pass first. I could go on and on about Lebron because honestly people confuse talent with athleticism. To me... Lebron is not an extremely talented player. He does NOT have sound fundamental mechanics whatsoever and he does NOT have an arsenal of offensive moves. Gifted athletically? Of course, which is why he barrels himself in the paint and scores 25 ppg
I see what you're saying now. IMO the championship Bulls had better role players, but put Jordan and Pippen on this Heat team and they could have beaten the Mavs. That's purely hypothetical of course, but even with James and Wade, I think there was enough talent on this Heat roster to get the job done. They just lacked chemistry and cohesiveness, and probably better offensive/defensive sets. Give the same roster another season or two to mesh, and their chances to win a ring goes way up even without a major upgrade in talent. Despite their failure this season, they're still the team to beat. Anyway, my point was more that James gets way too much flak for playing the Scottie Pippen role in the tandem, while people seem much more likely overlook Wade's mistakes and limitations. And IMO the Mavs' defense was more focused on containing James than Wade for much of the series, which would never have happened with Pippen.
MJ was 28 when he finally sealed the deal. Disclaimer: He will never be as great as MJ and probably not even close. It's just a fact that I want to point out.
Pippen and Lebron are very similar. They had similar quitting body language at some point. Although Pippen developed it much later in career when he was with Rockets.
I didn't. I don't know who did it but it's not me. If you want to bet $500 on it I don't mind finding out who did it.
I know there's a lot of hate for Pippen and Bron on this board but people forget how good Pippen used to be back in the day. The 'sometimes shooter' analysis is spot on. I still remember in the 99 playoffs when we lost 3-1 to the Lakers. I think it was game 3 when Pippen's shot was falling and he busted out for 37 points and looked all world. This was when Pippen was already past his prime but I'm just using this as an example of being a sometimes shooter. Lebron is able to get his points off of his athleticism and easy transition buckets but when the game is slowed down (playoffs, finals) and becomes a half court game it becomes extremely difficult for him to score if his jumper is off because his offensive game isn't very polished nor is it very technical. And when he's not scoring he becomes passive and starts making other mistakes.
remind me when somebody sets the record largest difference between PPG average and PPG Finals average oh wait, Lebron broke that record.
He was highly disappointing in the Finals. There's no sugarcoating that. My point is that he is still young and has a few years of primeness left. Dirk just won one at basically 33. He has been a max player forever..
the guy is 26, and he still has many holes in his game. he fixed his jumper this past season, and can still improve that aspect of his game. but a more glaring weakness is his post game. jordan didn't fully develop until late in his 20s, the same case with kobe. lebron will be 27 next year, so it's imperative he uses this offseason to shore up all of his weaknesses. it's very important for lebron to develop an offensive identity. he's the best all-around player in the game, but i think that sometimes hurts him. does he want to facilitate? or does he want to score? pick one and go off on that.
