Scottie Pippen has never been afraid to speak his mind regardless of what other people may think, say, or do, and I find that quality refreshing. Ask Pippen about Kevin Durant, and Pippen will tell you that Durant should not have tried to beat the Milwaukee Bucks by himself in game seven but also that first year Coach Steve Nash made a mistake by playing Durant for so many minutes. Ask Pippen about Ben Simmons, and Pippen will tell you that Simmons' inability to shoot well and his consequent reluctance to shoot in the fourth quarter are nothing new, and that Coach Doc Rivers should have adjusted his late game rotations accordingly, much the way that even a player as great as Shaquille O'Neal would sometimes be pulled from a game because of his poor free throw shooting.
Durant has proven not only that he is a great player but also that he has rabbit ears, so it is not surprising that he quickly clapped back at Pippen with a reference to the infamous 1.8 seconds that Pippen did not play at the end of game three of the 1994 Eastern Conference semifinals after Pippen was upset that Coach Phil Jackson designed the last shot for Toni Kukoc.
Dismissing Pippen's greatness based on "1.8 seconds" not only mischaracterizes that specific event, but fails to take into account the essential role he played on six championships teams. The numbers 25-8-6 (Pippen's point/rebound/assist totals in the Bulls' win in the next game after the infamous 1.8 seconds) speak eloquently not only about Pippen's talents but also about how thoroughly and quickly he healed any rift with his teammates. It is also important to remember that Pippen was a key member of three Chicago championship teams after those 1.8 seconds.
Only three main cogs participated in all six Chicago championship teams: Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan, and Scottie Pippen. Every other participant was replaceable, and was replaced.
Those who are quick to assert that Jordan could and would have won six titles with any other coach running the team and any other star player alongside him should be reminded of several facts:
1) Prior to teaming up with Jackson and Pippen, Jordan's career playoff record was 1-9, with three first round losses.
2) After teaming up with Jackson and Pippen, Jordan failed to make the playoffs in two seasons with the Washington Wizards.
3) After winning six titles with the Bulls, Jackson won five more titles with the Lakers.
4) After Michael Jordan's first retirement in 1993, the Bulls replaced him in the starting lineup with Pete Myers, and went on to post a 55-27 record, just two wins less their 1992-93 record. The Pippen-led 1993-94 Bulls lost in seven games in the second round to the New York Knicks, who benefited from a game-deciding call by Hue Hollins in game five that Darell Garretson--one of the other officials on the court during that game--later publicly called "terrible."
5) After Jordan returned to the Bulls near the end of the 1994-95 season, the Bulls lost in six games in the second round of the playoffs.
6) Pippen was the heart and soul of Portland's 2000 team that pushed the eventual three-time champion L.A. Lakers to seven games in the Western Conference Finals.
7) Pippen's playoff record without Jordan was 3-6 in series, and 19-21 in games. That may not look great at first glance, but it is much better than Jordan's playoff record without Pippen, and most of Pippen's playoff games without Jordan took place past Pippen's prime and after Pippen had major back surgery. Pippen went 1-1 in playoff series and 6-4 in playoff games in his only playoff run during his prime sans Jordan.
The above seven bullet points contain facts, not opinions or speculation. Those facts can be placed in context in a variety of ways, but the bottom line indisputable fact is that--of the three essential members of the Bulls' six championship teams--Jordan had the least playoff success on his own. That does not mean that Jordan was not great, but it does suggest that efforts to lionize Jordan while marginalizing the contributions of Jackson and Pippen do a disservice to the historical record.
That's the article: Scottie Pippen Was One of Just Three Essential Members of the Chicago Bulls' Six Championship Teams
You are now reading the article Scottie Pippen Was One of Just Three Essential Members of the Chicago Bulls' Six Championship Teams with link address https://wordentertainmen.blogspot.com/2021/06/scottie-pippen-was-one-of-just-three.html
Post a Comment