More Pippen? Let's Hope Not...
Scottie Pippen, one of the most overrated players ever to grace the NBA hardwood, has announced he wants to play this season for a contender. At the age of 41, Pippen feels he is very well rested and in great shape. Hmm, could that be because he hasn’t played in the league for 3 seasons? Of course he is well rested…he hasn’t done anything in years!
When he was in the league, Pippen did some things very well. There is no doubting that he played great defense. With his long arms and quick feet, he guarded everyone from point guards to power forwards. He was tenacious on the defensive end, leading to easy buckets on the other end. His offensive game though, left much to be desired.
It's not that his offensive game was terrible, he just couldn’t do anything for himself. He was the original embodiment of a point forward. He could bring the ball up, pass fairly well, and make a set jumper. Though he possessed all of those skills, it was rare to see Pippen create shots for himself. You never saw Scottie take someone off the dribble, unless there was an obvious mismatch. The only lay-ups and dunks he ever scored were either on the fast break (where no one was between him and the hoop), or on perfect feeds from Jordan.
That right there is the key…Michael Jordan. Scottie Pippen would have been something along the lines of a Bruce Bowen if it wasn’t for Michael. He is the Deion Branch of the NBA. Branch wasn’t worth much, but once he caught 11 passes in the Super Bowl from Tom Brady, he suddenly was worth a first round pick. Pippen was just an average NBA player, but because he was arguably the second best player on a team with MJ, he is suddenly thought of as a top talent.
Think of all the accolades bestowed upon Pippen just because he was on the Bulls while Jordan was there. The All-Defensive teams he made were totally legit, but the All-Star games and certainly the NBA’s Top 50 were ridiculous. Think about that, he was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. He never did anything great his whole career! His entire career was defined by Michael Jordan. How can someone be a great player if their whole playing career was reliant upon another player being present as well?
Do you remember how bad he was when Jordan retired? He was a terrible player those seasons because he didn’t have anyone to create for him. The only decent seasons he had after MJ left the game were in Portland, where other players were there to create for him. All he had to do was bring the ball up the floor, play some defense, and knock down a few open jumpers. Tell me, what about that makes a player great? Exactly…nothing!
We must give Pippen credit for his perfect choice of timing. He announced his plans to return to the NBA just a short while before the trade deadline. Oh, and it also happened to be on the eve of the All-Star break, when teams have a few days to go over their roster, figure out what they need for a playoff push, and then make a move. Brilliant! Other than attaching his career to MJ’s (nice work advisors), this is the best move of his career. Maybe that’s because he never had any of his own.
When he was in the league, Pippen did some things very well. There is no doubting that he played great defense. With his long arms and quick feet, he guarded everyone from point guards to power forwards. He was tenacious on the defensive end, leading to easy buckets on the other end. His offensive game though, left much to be desired.
It's not that his offensive game was terrible, he just couldn’t do anything for himself. He was the original embodiment of a point forward. He could bring the ball up, pass fairly well, and make a set jumper. Though he possessed all of those skills, it was rare to see Pippen create shots for himself. You never saw Scottie take someone off the dribble, unless there was an obvious mismatch. The only lay-ups and dunks he ever scored were either on the fast break (where no one was between him and the hoop), or on perfect feeds from Jordan.
That right there is the key…Michael Jordan. Scottie Pippen would have been something along the lines of a Bruce Bowen if it wasn’t for Michael. He is the Deion Branch of the NBA. Branch wasn’t worth much, but once he caught 11 passes in the Super Bowl from Tom Brady, he suddenly was worth a first round pick. Pippen was just an average NBA player, but because he was arguably the second best player on a team with MJ, he is suddenly thought of as a top talent.
Think of all the accolades bestowed upon Pippen just because he was on the Bulls while Jordan was there. The All-Defensive teams he made were totally legit, but the All-Star games and certainly the NBA’s Top 50 were ridiculous. Think about that, he was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. He never did anything great his whole career! His entire career was defined by Michael Jordan. How can someone be a great player if their whole playing career was reliant upon another player being present as well?
Do you remember how bad he was when Jordan retired? He was a terrible player those seasons because he didn’t have anyone to create for him. The only decent seasons he had after MJ left the game were in Portland, where other players were there to create for him. All he had to do was bring the ball up the floor, play some defense, and knock down a few open jumpers. Tell me, what about that makes a player great? Exactly…nothing!
We must give Pippen credit for his perfect choice of timing. He announced his plans to return to the NBA just a short while before the trade deadline. Oh, and it also happened to be on the eve of the All-Star break, when teams have a few days to go over their roster, figure out what they need for a playoff push, and then make a move. Brilliant! Other than attaching his career to MJ’s (nice work advisors), this is the best move of his career. Maybe that’s because he never had any of his own.
4 comments:
this is the most idiotic thing i have ever read. Anyone with half a brain knows pippen was very good on the offensive end. How come Jordan didnt win a championship until pippen came along? How come when jordan left, pippen's scoring and field goal percentage remained the same while Jordan retired for the first time. He lead the team to the playoffs. The reason pippens numbers went down when he left was because he was usually not the first scoring option. On houston he had barkley and Olajawon. When he went to portland the team was a western conference finalist and it had plenty of scorers. So with the extra scorers his scoring is supposed to go down. This is very idiotic, and everyone reading it knows.
You give way too much credit to Tom Brady. How dare you compare him to Jordan. Tom Brady is the Scotty Pippen of the NFL, if anything. Talk about overrated.
Pippen in his prime w/o Jordan = 22 ppg
8.70 rpg
5.6 apg
2.93 spg
49% FG
Yes he benefited from Jordan; and was extremely versitile offensively and defensively. Nuff said.
You said Pip was terrible without Jordan? He was 1st team all NBA and recorded career highs in every statistical category that year. He took the Bulls to a 55 win season and his side kick was Toni Kucoc....he was one phantom foul call against the Knicks from going to the Finals...
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