Sports Poets Society

nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/why-bulls-1993-94-season-was-peak-jerry-krause-scottie-pippens-relationship MAY 11, 2020 PRESENTED BY BULLS INSIDER Jerry Krause loved the 1993-94 season. Stunned by Michael Jordan’s first retirement like everyone else, he wrote that being around that 55-victory team was a privilege. He wrote that the job that coach Phil Jackson and his staff did was “the finest single-season coaching performance” he had seen. In his unfinished and unpublished memoir that Krause’s family has shared with NBC Sports Chicago, Krause showered praise on Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr and Pete Myers, and wrote that “everyone on the roster contributed.” But he saved his biggest praise for Scottie Pippen. “He stepped up,” Krause wrote. “He had his best all-around season of his 17-year career.” This is no small admission given the oft-contentious relationship that Krause and Pippen shared. But it also proves how Krause used a scout’s eye to analyze even his most complex relationships. For in...

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29143858/dennis-rodman-defends-scottie-pippen-last-dance-criticism Jackie MacMullan - ESPN Senior Writer May 7, 2020 IN " THE LAST DANCE ," Michael Jordan professes his love for Scottie Pippen , anoints him the best teammate he ever had and acknowledges he couldn't have reached pro basketball's zenith without him. But Pippen has been notably silent since the documentary began its run last month, and those close to him say he's wounded and disappointed by his portrayal. One of his most famous ex-teammates -- a former fierce rival -- has even felt compelled to come to his defense. By his final season in Chicago, Pippen was so bitter about being underpaid -- he was the subject of constant trade rumors -- that he eschewed offseason surgery on a ruptured tendon in his ankle and instead waited until the start of the 1997-98 season. It was a decision his coach, Phil Jackson, said he understood. Jordan did not. "I thought Scottie...

https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/michael-jordans-agent-says-hed-average-50-60-points-today-and-scottie-pippen-jealous David Falk, a veteran NBA agent best known for representing Michael Jordan during his playing days, joined 106.7 FM's The Junkies on NBC Sports Washington on Wednesday and the interview was truly something.D Falk was brought on to discuss ESPN's "The Last Dance" documentary and his takeaways ranged from interesting to funny to fairly explosive as far as basketball takes go. Falk did not hold back when it came to Jordan's legacy and other subjects of the series like Scottie Pippen. First, on Jordan, Falk went on and on about how he would not only dominate today's NBA if he were in his prime, he would basically be twice as good as he was. "With virtually zero defense, no hand-checking, I think if Jordan played today; if he was in his prime in today's rules, I think he'd average between 50 and 60 a game. I think he'd s...

http://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/041101 By Bill Simmons Page 2 - ESPN Editor's Note: This article appears in the October 29th issue of ESPN The Magazine. Where you stand on Scottie Pippen depends on two questions: 1. Do you follow the NBA? I mean, do you really follow it? 2. Do you give up on anyone who has made even one stupid mistake in his life? If the answer is "yes" for No. 1, you probably wonder why Scottie's recent retirement wasn't a bigger story. It's not every day one of the 20 greatest players ever hangs it up, right? Does MJ win six rings without him? Does anyone even consider the concept of a point forward ? Did any other small forward affect a game in more ways? Was there a more influential defensive player in the past 30 years? During the 1992 Olympics, Chuck Daly called Scottie his second-best player, describing him as the ultimate "fill-in-the-blanks guy." That's right. Like The Wolf in "Pulp Fiction," ...

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/4/27/21238706/last-dance-bulls-pistons-scottie-pippen-migraine Originally published June 4, 1990 From the archives: Scottie Pippen tried to fight through a migraine in the Bulls’ playoff loss to the Pistons. By    Lacy J. Banks      Apr 27, 2020 AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — So close, yet so far away. That’s the frustration the Bulls felt Sunday afternoon after losing Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals 93-74 to the Detroit Pistons in the Palace and being eliminated from the NBA playoffs. It marks the second straight year the Bulls were ousted by the Pistons in the conference finals. “Naturally, I’m disappointed,” said Bulls guard Michael Jordan, whose nine assists, eight rebounds and game-high 31 points went for naught. “I’d love to be where (the Pistons) are right now. But it just wasn’t meant to be. We still are in a learning process. “We came within a game of being where they are. Now, there’s nothing left for us to do but to ...

https://www.the-shot.it/2020/03/29/bulls-contro-pistons-storia-di-una-rivalita/ by  Davide Torelli  -  29 Marzo, 2020 Copertina a cura di Sebastiano Barban I Bad Boys rappresentano al meglio il passaggio tra due decenni di sviluppo della lega, entrando di diritto nell’immaginario collettivo degli appassionati NBA. Cattiveria, gioco sporco, grinta: un gruppo brutto e cattivo, guidato da un generale come Chuck Daly, belli da vedere per una lunghissima serie di ragioni. Incarnando lo spirito proletario e senza fronzoli della Motor City, diventando un tutt’uno con un pubblico entusiasta. Di fatto, chiudono l’èra del dualismo tra Larry e Magic – prendendo a calci nel sedere i Celtics e vendicandosi dei Lakers – condannando le due squadre-simbolo degli anni 80 alla fine di un’epoca. Non solo la classe di Isiah Thomas e Joe Dumars, ma anche la consistenza di John Salley, la pura malvagità di Bill Laimbeer, la dedizione di Dennis Rodman. E poi Vinnie Johnson e Mark Aguirre, quell...