Barkley isn't his friend 1st and foremost and never won a title for the obvious reasons Pippen stated. I find it a little ironic to give credit to the Houston team to Barkley and Olajuwon, because Olwajuwon was just about a zero factor. Barkley was effective because the offense was for him, if it had been designed to fit Pippen they probably would have gotten further in the playoffs that year. And the Blazers were Pippen, Smith, Sabonis, Wallace when they were at their best. Which I might call fairly comparable to Brown's Pistons which I don't think is essentially a loaded team. I actually was not addressing Mj when he returned though because in my mind that didnt' count. And quite frankly I fail see to see all this jerk talk, when its all said and done give the man his due props. I'm talking about Pippen's 2 years, one when Mj retired and his 1st with Portland, though Mj only had 2 years w/o Pippen and he was young.
I see you forgot to mention that Pippen was the best player on that Blazer team, and played better in the playoffs that year than anyone not named Shaq. Once again, the man lost agruably the best player in league history, replaced him with an old SG and a rookie, and almost led that team to the ECF. That's like the 95 team losing Dream, and one of our role players almost leading us to the WCF. Scottie took the Bulls further (alone) than MJ ever did, and nothing you say will refute that. He almost got back to the Finals with another squad. Yeah, he might have been an ass, but he was still a balla, and he could play for my team anyday.
Jordan seasons over .500 without Pippen - 0 Pippen seasons over .500 without Jordan - 7 Jordan playoff wins without Pippen - 1 Pippen playoff wins without Jordan - 20
Jordan also had Jerry Stackhouse/Richard Hamilton, Larry Hughes, Tyrone Lue, Courtney Alexander, he had enough to be at least over .500. The problem on that team was that he played ball the exact same way he played when Doug Collins first coached him. He must of thought the only way they could win was by shooting and shooting and shooting first, instead of leading first like he was doing with Phil Jackson as his coach. Right, lets say Jordan only came back to try and train the younger players, well he failed in everything but criticizing the younger players.
No. I'm just saying that Jordan didn't make Pippen, Pippen wasn't just along for the ride, to me he made those championship teams championship contenders while Jordan was their to push them over the top and make them champions. It doesn't make any sense to me to take away credit from any of those three, Jordan, Pippen, or Jackson, because they happened to be on the same team.
I call bull****. Pippen was one of the best #2 roleplayers in history. He was crazy athletic and had one great season as the man. So did Vince Carter, big whoop. Did I forget to mention he's a tool? Good riddance, and thx for wasting some of Chicago's cap space on your way out.
Yeah, I've seen Vince Carter dominate an entire playoff series with his defense. Yeah, Vince Carter led his team in damn near every statistical category in his best season. Yeah, Vince Carter almost took a team to the Finals. Not.....
Actually, Carter really was the man in 2001. The Raps probably would have beaten the Bucks had they gotten past the Sixers. Let's look at some of Pippen's contemporaries. Who would you rather build a team around, Snottie, or... Hakeem David Robinson Patrick Ewing Charles Barkley Karl Malone Clyde Drexler John Stockton Chris Mullin Jason Kidd Reggie Miller Allen Iverson Grant Hill Alonzo Mourning Shaquille O'Neal Pippen was a great role player who couldn't quite carry the load by himself, and didn't learn how to be a leader until he was well past his prime.
These are the only ones I would take ahead of Scottie: Hakeem David Robinson Clyde Drexler Shaquille O'Neal Oh, and I was wrong. Harper didn't replace MJ...it was Pete Myers. Makes what Scottie did even more impressive.
Rasheed Wallace was. Steve Smith also may have been better that year. Here are Pippen's playoff stats for '00: 14.9 pts, 41.9% fg, 7.1 reb, 4.3 asst Not that great. That team had one of the biggest chokes in playoff history against LA. That team needed someone, anyone, to step up and make a shot in that 4th quarter. They couldn't do it. You could also easily say that Jordan left, and they only made it out of the first round. They won a series against the 6th-seeded Cavs, that's it. Doesn't sound as impressive that way. Also, Horace Grant was an All-Star that year, as well as 2nd team All-Defense. He averaged a double-double. Don't say he 'almost' got back to the Finals- that would mean he lost in 7 in the ECF.
Defense, no- offense, possibly. No perimeter player dominates another team defensively- it's not physically or logistically possible. Besides, Chicago played great team defense. Statistical categories- don't really know; I question the relevance, since Steve Francis almost did this a couple of years ago I think. Almost took a team to the Finals- exactly as far as Pippen did- 7 games into the second round.
