STFU, Scottie Pippen

Yesterday, I read that laughable interview GQ had with Scottie Pippen, the one that set NBA Twitter ablaze earlier in the week.

Here's my hot takes on several issues he raised.

First, he of course was NOT better than Michael Jordan. I don't know whether he really believes that, or he's that butthurt about Michael attention.

Second, re his ragging in general on Phil Jackson for choosing Toni Kukoc to shoot that 1994 NBA playoff game-ender against the Knicks, let alone the racist claim?

First of all, it went in!

Scottie, Toni made the shot!

Why Phil chose Kukoc, I don't know. But he did. I DO know, or am reasonably certain, that it was NOT due to racism. Look, Scottie, I get that both you and MJ, when he came back, hated Kukoc because you hated Jerry Krause for pushing him. OK. Beyond that, in an end-of-game set, inbounding the ball is important, and all too often, too many teams ignore the in-bounder after that. Well, Phil may have been expecting the Knicks would in no way do that, so Scottie would have been a decoy. That's part of being a team, Scottie.

 

And, Chicago sports media like Brian Mazique (oh, he's Black, Scottie) say it was the right call. Mazique said that Scottie wasn't beating Anthony Mason off the dribble. It's true. Look at video of the last minute, part of a four-minute video that is also a YouTube stand-alone. The last Bulls possession before Patrick Ewing ties the game, Scottie bricks a semi-airball from beyond the arc against Mason which didn't matter anyway because he committed a shot-clock violation.

PLUS! Phil had called the same play in a regular season game. And it worked. (Rather than embed, that's a link to the video at the moment of Pippen inbounding to Kukoc.)

AND? Kukoc is a better person than Pippen (or Jordan).

Update: A new piece at Washington Babylon, on the other hand, has a fair amount of goods on Phil Jackson indeed walking, talking and quacking like a racist.

Sidebar? People comparing this to LeBron James telling Dave Blatt, fuck no, I'm shooting? It was dumb on Blatt's part. I can't even remember who it was called for. It was also wrong on LeBron's part.

Third, Scottie using this to rag on Kevin Durant for not being a team player? Well, since Scottie benched himself, he knows jack about being a team player. (Besides that, if assist percentage is a benchmark of being a team player, then Durant kicks Pippen's ass all the way back to Arkansas. No, really. It's not even close.)

Third part two? KD was without Kyrie Irving and James Harden was at 50 percent.

Third, part three? If Scottie's as tough as he presents himself as being, as well as being as much a leader as he presents himself as being, why didn't he punch stand up to Jordan enough to even take a punch to the face like Steve Kerr did?

Kerr: "I'm not going to beat anybody but I WILL fight people!"

Fourth? Scottie without Mike?

In Jordan's initial retirement, Pippen did NOT SIGNIFICANTLY elevate his game. Oh, sure, he did to a degree. But NOT significantly. (His scoring and rebounds were both up, but despite the claims even by many in Chicago sports media about him playing team ball, his assists were down. His assist percentage was unchanged. On sabermetrics, his total offensive rating was 108 in 1992-93, then 109 and 110 the next two years. His Win Shares/48 did jump, but his total Win Shares stayed about the same. Why? Phil rested him; fewer minutes than the previous seasons.

In the post-1998 world? Scottie hit a wall his first year after, at 33. Among some reasonable comps, John Havlicek and Paul Pierce didn't hit that much of a wall until their age 36 seasons.

Fifth, that wasn't all the NBA stupidity there. Next, Scottie said that Kenny Smith was better than Charles Barkley because he had a ring.

Scottie, I don't know if being butthurt about MJ makes you that stupid? I don't know if you were drunk on your new bourbon?

But, you've already gotten a reputation as one of the biggest bullshitters around among ex-NBA players and you just added to it. On that, you ARE Paul Pierce. And, Chicago sports media like Rick Morrissey know this is just your latest tire fire. Morrisey, like Mazique, knows you're hurt over this. He also knows your framing is bullshit.

 

So, let's conclude by repeating the header:

 

STFU, Scottie.

LeBron is No. 1; Michael Jordan is 1A

I wrote about this just 14 months ago, as the just-finished, COVID-interrupted NBA season was about to start.

And now, with LeBron James winning his fourth Finals MVP, and with only Michael Jordan having more? AND, with LeBron now the only person to win the Finals MVP with three teams?

It's time to head back and refresh.

I had gotten halfway tired of this question on Quora, and eventually left because I was FULLY tired of the wingnut lies on politics and Quora concern trolling ME when I called them out. 

That said, rather than retyping myself and going back to Basketball-Reference time after time, it's easier to take my latest answer, add some stuff to it, and have it ready to post.

Lebron's career sabermetrics, updated from the start of season: PER 27.5 WS/48 .234 VORP 133.7 VORP/100 Games (my addition to Basketball Reference stats) 10.57.

OK, next?

Jordan, with fewer career games, career minutes and mid-career rest break: PER 27.9 WS/48 .250 VORP 104.4 VORP/100 G 9.739.

So, especially if one makes allowances for Jordan’s rest time, etc.? It’s arguable LeBron is 1 and Jordan is 1A.

As for the blinder Jordan fans? More finals wins/titles mean that LeBron never had a wingman as good as Scottie Pippen for starters. Don’t go there. And, no, don’t be such a Jordan homer over a Bulls homer to claim that Dwyane Wade is better than Scottie Pippen. He does have a year or two better by VORP, but otherwise? You know it’s not true; they're maybe about even, and that's maybe. Nor was Kyrie Irving, when paired with LeBron after he came back to Cleveland. He's not close.

Yes, LeBron has Anthony Davis this year. But? He didn't in the past. Period. And, while Chris Bosh was a good contributor with Miami? Bulls had Ron Harper, Steve Kerr, Toni Kukoc. Today's Lakers have nobody that close as a No. 3 option. And no, Danny Green is not at the Kukoc level, and Harper was as good as him on fewer minutes. The rest of that team? Yes, a shorter schedule, but still, JaVale McGee the only other player with 1.0 VORP or higher. (The 1996 and 1997 Bulls had six players there, as a counterexample, and five of them were over 2 VORP.)

Also? LBJ is 22nd in career assist percentage and Jordan is not in the top 100. In other words, LBJ worked harder to make his teammates better and more involved in the offense, and was better at it.

For Jordan fellators who LOL on Finals appearances vs titles?

Let’s put this another way.

LeBron's last year in his first stint in Cleveland? 61-21, lost in the East semis. Should have beaten the Celts, but set that aside. Next year, after he left? 19-63. 1993 Bulls? Won a title, 57-25 regular season.  Went 55-27 the next year, made it to the East semis. Went 47-25 the year after that, even, with Michael's late season comeback of just 17 games. Cavs? 21-45 in the strike-shortened second season after LeBron. And last year's Cavs, after losing LeBron the second time? 19-63. Get the picture? Click those two links above; compare the 2010 Cavs to 1993 Bulls, let alone 2011 Cavs to 1994 Bulls.

I would compare their age-35 seasons, but? Michael Jordan WAS RETIRED!!!!! Their age-34? Jordan 7.1 VORP and .238 WS/48.

Commenters, if I get any?

Jordan fans, given that I’ve already tackled the titles issue, find better arguments. The one and only good one, per ESPN's Zach Lowe and others, is LeBron spitting the bit in the 2011 Finals against the Mavericks. That said, this argument, the way it's usually presented, comes off as a diss of the Mavs. The Mavs did finish second in the West, as Miami did in the East. (People forget that.) Was Miami arguably the better team? Yes. Were all of its top players, not just LeBron, sniffing their own press clippings too much? Arguably, yes. Did they give the Mavs too many press clippings over Dirk's flu? Yes. But, Dallas had to win that series.

On the flip side, The Ringer reminds us of just what all is involved with winning the Finals MVP with three different teams, and how quickly LeBron elevated Miami, the returned-to Cleveland, and now LA.

Mamba fans wondering where Kobe Bryant is?

Not in the picture. Because he ain’t. He’s an A-minus, even more ball-centric, version of Jordan.

LeBron vs Jordan — the GOAT?

I've gotten halfway tired of this question on Quora — but not nearly as much as Trump Trainers or Hillbot Dems on their stuff.

That said, rather than retyping myself and going back to Basketball-Reference time after time, it's easier to take my latest answer, add some stuff to it, and have it ready to post.

LeBron James: PER 27.6 WS/48 .235 VORP 129.8 VORP/100 G (my add) 10.834.

OK, next?

Michael Jordan (with fewer career games, career minutes and mid-career rest break): PER 27.9 WS/48 .250 VORP 104.4 VORP/100 G 9.739.

So, especially if one makes allowances for Jordan’s rest time, etc.? It’s arguable LeBron is 1 and Jordan is 1A.

As for the blinder Jordan fans? More finals wins/titles mean that LeBron never had a wingman as good as Scottie Pippen for starters. Don’t go there. And, no, don’t be such a Jordan homer over a Bulls homer to claim that Dwyane Wade is better than Scottie Pippen. He does have a year or two better by VORP, but otherwise? You know it’s not true; they're maybe about even, and that's maybe. Nor was Kyrie Irving, when paired with LeBron after he came back to Cleveland. He's not close.

Also? LBJ is 22nd in career assist percentage and Jordan is not in the top 100. In other words, LBJ worked harder to make his teammates better and more involved in the offense, and was better at it.

For Jordan fellators who LOL on Finals appearances vs titles?

Let’s put this another way.

LeBron's last year in his first stint in Cleveland? 61-21, lost in the East semis. Should have beaten the Celts, but set that aside. Next year, after he left? 19-63. 1993 Bulls? Won a title, 57-25 regular season.  Went 55-27 the next year, made it to the East semis. Went 47-25 the year after that, even, with Michael's late season comeback of just 17 games. Cavs? 21-45 in the strike-shortened second season after LeBron. And last year's Cavs, after losing LeBron the second time? 19-63. Get the picture? Click those two links above; compare the 2010 Cavs to 1993 Bulls, let alone 2011 Cavs to 1994 Bulls.

Commenters, if I get any?

Jordan fans, given that I’ve already tackled the titles issue, find better arguments.

Mamba fans wondering where Kobe Bryant is?

Not in the picture. Because he ain’t. He’s an A-minus, even more ball-centric, version of Jordan.

Draymond Green: The next Dennis Rodman?

It's by no means a guarantee that Golden State's Swiss Army knife, Draymond Green, could turn into as unstable of nitroglycerine as Dennis Rodman of Madonna and North Korea fame, among other things.

But, it's possible. I think it's quite possible after reading this ESPN piece. (And already seeing him pick up a dumb taunting-type technical in last night's opener.)

And, one problem with the Warriors' chemistry is that they're lacking someone like one particular player head coach Steve Kerr played with. The Warriors have no Michael Jordan.

He may have gotten some pushback from Klay Thompson last year, and some more quite control from Steph Curry. But, neither of them is MJ in that regard, and Kevin Durant isn't either. Andre Iguodala has the presence, in once sense, but I think Green would ignore him.

On the flip side, the Warriors, with the depth they now have, can ultimately decide to walk away from Green after his current contract ends. Of course, they've got four years left. If they can win a title, smooth over appearances and hit a peak, it would be a gamble, but they could trade him and try to rebuild on the fly at the end of the current season.

Goodbye, Kobe; and my ranking him

Kobe Bryant apparently bought a clue or something, as he's announced that next year, after the second installment of his $48.5M gift from Jimmerz Buss expires, he's retiring. I guess that he's seeing age and reality, while Jimmerz is seeing a picture of sister Jeanie with a shiv.

First, this is good news for Laker rebuilding. Stories have abounded that top free agents don't want to go to the Lakers because of Kobe.

Second, this is good news for Laker rebuilding. It takes his contract off the books just in time for an expanding NBA salary cap. The Lakers can probably either nibble at the edges or do some 1-year contracts for 2015-16, then do two max contracts the next year.

Note to Mitch Kupchak: Please do these moves yourself; get Jeanie Buss to kill Jimmerz if necessary.

Third, of course, everybody from Bill Simmons down is going to do Kobe legacy watch over the next 12 months.

Well, Bill already started with his Hall of Fame pyramid in his 2010 book, putting Kobe No. 8 then.

And, looking at that list, I'm not sure I'd move him up, five years later.

He certainly doesn't pass Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson or Larry Bird. All three made teammates better in a way Kobe didn't. Bill Russell brought something incredible to defense, and to leadership. I'm not sure I'd rank him as high as Simmons, not just countering Simmons' Boston homerism, but for other reasons, but I'd still keep him ahead of Kobe.

I'd keep Tim Duncan ahead of Kobe, too, as the modern equivalent of the players above.

That leaves Kareem and Wilt.

Like Shaq, I could see dropping Wilt behind Kobe. But, his own moods issues aside, I'll keep Kareem ahead. So, Wilt falls to No. 8, behind Kobe, who's in No. 7, with Duncan moving up a notch, too.

So, scratch that. I'm moving Jerry West to No. 7, keeping Timmy and Kobe where they are, and dropping Wilt two spots.

Simmons has a big fail here, mainly in not making allowances for the three-point line with West. Like Wilt and MJ, he might have had a 30-point career scoring average, had the 3-ball been around in his day.

Jeter publishes 'The Contraction'

Word has it that Derek Jeter, the greatest shortstop ever to come from Kalamazoo, Michigan, play for the New York Yankees, and sell hot dogs in the Alameda County Coliseum, flipping them behind his back during the 2001 playoffs, has a book out.

Well, his ghostwriter has a book out.

You may have heard that it's called "The Contract," and is a Horatio Alger-type, or more, Michael Jordan-type, story (whether it's basketball Jordan or baseball Jordan) about trying to play shortstop for his Little League team.

Well, actually, the REAL Jeter book is called "The Contraction."

And, here's a sample of what it contains, in an editorial review summary:

“The Contraction” is a lovely true story of how Derek Jeter, more than a dozen years into his New York Yankees career, finally discovered that his defensive range at shortstop had been shrinking every year.

Jeter, after listening to general manager Brian Cashman and others, decided to change how he played the position. To his surprise, he found out that he could catch balls he never did before.

Unfortunately, he found out that “The Contraction” now also described his throwing range and that he couldn’t get any of these newly-caught balls to first base without at least one bounce.

Jeter was so horrified and depressed over his own mortality that he broke his ankle tripping over his own night baseball shadow.

Have fun, Cap'n.

But, we've gotten samples from another chapter of "The Contraction," too.

Here you go:

Alex Rodriguez, when signed by the Yankees as a free agent, told Cashman that he had noticed Jeter's shrinking range. He said he was willing to play third base because Jeter was the incumbent veteran at short, but really thought it would help the team more if he played short and Jeter made the switch to third base.

When Cashman would not commit to further discussion of the idea, Rodriguez began dropping comments around the Yankee clubhouse. Eventually, Jeter commented back, saying privately that A-Rod was a horse's ass. 

Rodriguez tried to make things up to Jeter by saying, "No, but I am a centaur," and presenting him a copy of his famous painting.

Boy, I can't wait to read this.

Here's another selection, from a famous Yankees-Red Sox incident.

When I saw Don Zimmer rushing the mound to go after Pedro Martinez, I first wondered, "What the hell is he doing?"

I thought for a moment about trying to help him, then I told myself, "What am I thinking?"

First, Pedro's a tough bastard. Second, Don was that stupid. Third, I got a hot date tonight and can't afford to get hurt.

And, a tidbit, on Joe Torre as manager:

Oh, Joe was great, even without any help from Zimmer. But, he was really, really great in general. Man, I love that hot Italian ass. No, really, Torre was a great manager.

But wait, that's not all. In "The Contraction," Jeter has more background on his investment in a company that makes $100 junk-cooling underwear, which could cause shrinkage, an actual contraction.

Riffing on his kids' book, "The Contract," he talks about it Dr. Seuss terms:

I’ve got junk in my trunk
And that ain’t no bunk;
But my junk stays cool
Because that’s my rule.
Kids, treat your junk with pride
And let it take you for a ride.

"The Contraction." You read it here first.

On the other hand, the current model, at least, of Jeter's Junk Adjusters aren't a full-pubes super-condom. I'm sure Jeter, the ultimate ladies' man, will fix that.

That kid may be right on Tiger losing No. 1

Tiger Woods just withdrew from The Players' Championship with a bulging disc in either his back or neck.

Even if Phil Mickelson doesn't win the Players, it's clearly just a matter of time before Tiger loses his No. 1 ranking.

That said, let's look at the longer term.

Jack Nicklaus never had this type of back problem in his mid-30s. He also did not have three knee operations. Those driver pop-ups by Woods may well be caused at least in part by the back, and not rust.

In that case, Woods has more than hanging on to No. 1 to worry about; he has the chase of Jack's 18 majors taking a whole new turn.

And, if his golf game is suddenly diminished, while his competitive fires, and his quasi-juvenile focus on them, are undimmed or even strengthened, his life gets even more tumultuous. Even more so if Elin has filed for divorce.

Look at Michael Jordan's post-Bulls attempts to still play.

Oh, and, yes, there's one way for Tiger to have thrown out his back!

Of course, there's conflicting news as to whether this is a bulging disc or just a pinched nerve. That's a huge difference.

Nuclear meltdown ticking in Charlotte

If Larry Brown thought it was fun working for Joe Dumars in Detroit, I’m sure he ain’t seen nothing yet compared to working for Michael Jordan in Charlotte.

I predict a two-year tenure for Coach Vagabond, with a first-round playoff appearance next year, a failure the year after that, and the explosion about two weeks before the end of the 2009-2010 season.

I guess the final question is, who is dumber, more desperate and/or more neurotic, Jordan for offering the job or Brown for accepting it?

YouTube is waiting in the wings. Especially if MJ drafts the next Darko.