Look, I know many of you guys hate Pippen, but love him or hate him, the guy, in my opinion, is pretty fair with his commentary and assessment of all teams in the league. I think I have to respect that when I compare to bitter a-holes like the Chuksta Anyways, here it is: http://www.nba.com/blog/blog30.html Shaq-Kobe: The Sequel; Rockets In Orbit Hello everyone ...... the playoffs are only a month away and teams are trying to improve their playoff positioning ....or just trying to get in ... The Lakers, who visit Miami Thursday night, are one of the teams trying to make the playoffs, desperately fighting for the eighth spot in the West. I think it's going to be an exciting game to watch and I plan on being there. Any time the Lakers visit Miami, it's always a big game. Now, factor in the Kobe-Shaq storyline and it's going to bring a little energy to the game. If the Lakers aren't careful, this game could one sided. Hopefully the Heat don't go into the game with that mindset, but the Lakers don't have any size to match up with the Heat's frontline. Plus, Kobe is the only one that's consistently giving them any offense. They're a team fighting to hang on as the season winds down. The Lakers are a franchise that is accustome to always making the postseason. Meanwhile, the Heat are on such a roll, winning their 10th game in a row and clinching homecourt throughout the playoffs. That's pretty big for a team that brought in several new additions. They've been able to gel and they are peaking with 15 or so games left in the season. The most obvious reason for the team's success is Shaquille O'Neal. His presence out there makes the game so much easier for the other guys. He's a seasoned vet and he has a great understanding for the game. Yet despite the enormous talent, what a lot of people don't understand about Shaq is his intelligence and his ability to pass the ball. He has so much more knowledge of the game than most people think. We always look at him and say when he gets the ball, he's always going to dunk it. But he has a good feel for the game and he can make the guys around him great. I think it's amazing that he and Dwyane Wade have developed such a wonderful chemistry in such a short period of time. They have a really good understanding of each other. I think Wade does a great job of keeping Shaq, as well as his other teammates, involved in the game. You also have to say it was probably a good move for Shaq to sort of pull back a little bit and let this kid continue to blossom throughout the season Even though Wade is a second-year player, he's playing like a seasoned vet. He's won a few games this year with last-second shots. He just has such a thrust about his game, about getting to the basket. He keeps that pressure on your defense for 48 minutes and in the latter part of the game he's really able to shoot the basketball with a lot of confidence and a lot of comfort. He's playing some of the best basketball of any individual player in the game. He should be really looked at as an NBA MVP candidate. You can even make the case he's been the MVP of the Heat this season. He has a little Michael Jordan in his style. He's a very exciting player to watch. While the Heat are rolling through the competition in the East, the Houston Rockets are orbiting in the West. They're coming off a four game road trip in which they won 3 games and seem to be peaking at the right time. As much as I like Seattle, you have to like Houston's upside, especially come playoff time. The Rockets are a team that made a lot of moves during the season and so far, they seem like the right ones. I think Bobby Sura, first of all, really sets the tone for the Rockets. He's a heck of a defender. He really gets after guards and he just works for 48 minutes. And now you bring in a guy like Mike James who has the same type of mentality, they really set the tone for Houston. Anytime you can get those kinds of guys getting up the court and playing well and getting out there, it really has a huge effect. It allows a guy like Tracy McGrady to step up his defense and Yao has become a much bigger presence for them on the inside. Juwan Howard, too. Things just tend to go well for you when you play hard on both ends of the court. The most important reason why Houston is playing so well, though, is their offense is clicking so well that teams are not able to get out and get easy baskets on them. If you want to play your best basketball, you really want your offense to be clicking. It really helps you on the defensive end because it allows you time to get back and set your defense. No one is going to want to face the Rockets in the postseason. They have two of the most dominant offensive players in the game in T-Mac and Yao. When you look at the numbers that McGrady is capable of putting up and when you look at the fact that a lot of teams cannot match up with Yao, they're just a team that presents matchup problems. The Rockets are currently the 6th seed in the West. The Kings, who are in fifth place by 2 games better watch out. The Rockets are on the move.
wtf is pippin on? 3 games of a four game trip?? it was all 4!!! and then 2 games behind sacramento? granted he may have wrote this earlier in the day when were just a game behind and now 1/2 game behind. like i said i dont care if they diss the rockets with their opinions but at least get the black and white facts straight for gods sake
My guess would be that he wrote this blog after we had won three games and meant to say we are about to come off the road trip. But the article says it was written earlier today, so may be he wasn't up to date with all the facts. These blogs are not formal, so I guess there is no fact checking on it. I am sure he doesn't watch the Rockets religioulsy like you and I, so probably did not check the record/latest news before he posted But that is a technicality, the article makes other points about our players/style/potential etc.
In fairness, he probably also wrote it before our win over GS, but knew it would come out after the game.
I'm sorry...homosexual. Not you. Scottie. He likes buttsex. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I knew what you meant, but that kinda stood out as a reply to the blog. It doesn't really have any point to make, but please, don't let me stop your Pippen-hating rampage
Why, thank you. Pippen is a jerk. He is stupid. He hates kittens. He smells bad. Kinda like onions and melted plastic. You know, that smell plastic gives off when you set fire to it and then it goes out but leaves behind that puff of smoke? Like that. And onions. P.S. - I enjoyed that article, in all seriousness...thanks tm1.
Oh come on, I think it's very relevant that we know how an athlete smells like and their feelings about the feline part of the animal kingdom...
WOW! I meant for this thread to be basketball-related, but I guess that is too much to ask, I guess I should have seen this coming, with all the apparent hate for Pippen on this board. I am sorry for bringing anything Pippen said/wrote to the BBS, I will be more intelligent next time. Thanks for derailing the thread guys... --Tiger
