khandor’s sports blog

What’s does it really take to win big, in the NBA?

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Reinsdorf: ‘It took Scottie to put us over the top’

For many Bulls fans, it’s impossible to think about Michael Jordan without also thinking of Scottie Pippen. Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf shares that sentiment and he takes the thought one step further.

“Six championships that wouldn’t have been won without Scottie,” Reinsdorf said when asked what comes to mind when he recalls Pippen’s career. “Michael couldn’t have done it by himself. The rest of the players and Michael would not have been enough. It took Scottie to put us over the top those six times.”

It’s often been said that Pippen never won a title without Jordan, but Jordan never won it all without Pippen, either. At the end of the day, the two players were the perfect complement to each other. That’s why when Pippen enters basketball’s Hall of Fame on Aug. 13, it’s only fitting that he’ll join Jordan among the game’s greats in Springfield, Mass. just one year after his enshrinement.

“A lot of people liked to talk about Scottie as being Batman’s Robin or the Lone Ranger’s Tonto,” said Reinsdorf during a recent interview at the Berto Center. “I never thought that was the case and I liked to think of them as 1 and 1A. They were very, very close.”

The paring of the duo which brought Chicago six world championships in eight years was born on June 22, 1987 in New York City, the night of the 1987 NBA Draft. The Bulls owed two first round selections, eighth and tenth overall.

Then General Manager Jerry Krause had set his sights on Pippen, who had not long before been an unknown prospect out of Central Arkansas, a NAIA school at the time. Given that the Bulls were one of the very few teams who had ventured down to Conaway, Ark. to watch Pippen play collegiately, Reinsdorf recalled being confident they would be able to get him with the eighth pick. But the rest of the basketball world was about to learn of Pippen’s talents and abilities.

“We were sure we were going to be able to get Scottie where we were in the draft,” said Reinsdorf. “Then Scottie went to the pre-draft camps, lit it up and got everybody’s attention. We went into panic mode because we realized he wouldn’t be there when we were going to draft. We somehow had to move up and we were able to pull it off. But it was touch and go for awhile.”

Instead of listening to a plethora of so-called ‘experts’ espouse their interpretation of the actions by LeBron James, you would be much better off reading the thoughts of a former NBA player who was once “black-balled” out of the association because of his “activistism”:

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Chet Walker on LeBron James

”Gilbert’s an idiot, and you can quote me,” Walker said. ”I’m retired, 70 years old and can’t nobody bother me for speaking my mind. Who’s going to want to come play for Cleveland now that LeBron is gone? But I can see players wanting to come play with LeBron, Wade and Bosh because they’ll have a great chance to win a ring.

”Gilbert ought to be grateful, if anything, because for seven years LeBron was the team’s cash cow. He made a lot of money for the team and for the city. I can see how Gilbert can be hurt and disappointed. But I don’t like the way he and so many other people in the media and elsewhere are ripping LeBron. This kid is the victim of a high-tech lynching. You wouldn’t believe the hate I’m hearing on talk radio out here in Los Angeles. I’m really [ticked] off.

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Kudos to Mr. Walker for speaking his mind.

If LeBron James [SF] and Dwyane Wade [OG] were to re-sign with their respective teams …

in a similar way to what:

i. Joe Johnson [OG, Atlanta];
ii. Paul Pierce [SF, Boston]; and,
iii. Dirk Nowitzki [PF/C, Dallas];

have each done already …

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Cleveland … with Dan Gilbert, Chris Grant, Byron Scott and LeBron James, for a 6-yr maximum contract, but without Dwyane Wade, Anderson Varejao/JJ Hickson, Delonte West and Anthony Parker?

New Jersey … with Mikhail Prokhorov, an unknown GM after July 15, Avery Johnson, Brook Lopez, Devin Harris, Courtney Lee and Terrence Williams, for a 6-yr maximum contract, but without LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and, possibly, Derrick Favors?

New York … with James Dolan, Donnie Walsh, Mike D’Antoni, Amare Stoudemire and Danilo Gallinari, for a 6-yr maximum contract, but without LeBron James and Dwyane Wade?  

Chicago … with Jerry Riensdorf, Gar Forman and Jim Paxson, Thom Thibodeau and Derrick Rose, for a 6-yr maximum contract, but without LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng?

Miami … with Micky Arison, Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra, Dwyane Wade, Mario Chalmers [PG], Michael Beasley [PF] and, quite possibly, Udonis Haslem [PF], Dorell Wright [SF], Carlos Boozer [PF/C], Mike Miller [OF] and Dexter Pittman [C], for a 5-yr, slightly less-than maximum contract [with the Heat then holding your 'Bird Rights'], but without LeBron James?

or,

Toronto … with MLSE, Bryan Colangelo, Jay Triano, Jose Calderon, DeMar DeRozan, Hedo Turkoglu, Andrea Bargnani, Jarrett Jack, Marco Belinelli, Sonny Weems, Ed Davis, Solomon Alabi, Marcus Banks, Reggie Evans and Amir Johnson, for a 6-yr maximum contract, but without LeBron James and Dwyane Wade?

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The simple facts are:

1. Toronto is a world-class, cosmopolitan city of considerable reknown [i.e. unlike Cleveland];

2. Chris Bosh has always wanted to re-sign with the Toronto Raptors, if their team was [i] willing to offer him a maximum contract, and [ii] continually upgrade its roster, with him as a centre-piece, in an effort to become a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference;

and,

3. Chris Bosh is not someone whose has prioritized “winning” … to this point, in his career … above all else, in his life, including, for example:

Trust

Honesty

Creativity

Mutual Respect

Hard work

Teamwork, and

A Commitment To Achieving Excellence.

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Update:

Wade, Bosh choose Miami

The Triangle Offense is a thing of beauty … when it’s executed properly.

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Q1. Which specific option is the best one for the Lakers to use in Game 6, considering the difficulty Los Angeles has had scoring efficiently?

A1. The option which they have steadfastly refused to go to in each of their 3 losses!

i.e. The Wing/Corner Pick and Roll/Pop [with Kobe Bryant as the ballhandler]

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Fig. 1 -  Initial Alignment

Fig. 2 - Wing/Corner Entry Pass

Fig. 3 - UCLA Backscreen and Weak Side Triangle

Fig. 4 - Wing Pick and Pop

Fig. 5 - Wing Drives Into the Lane to, either, Shoot or Pass

What Boston showed in its series with Orlando is just how vulnerable the Celtics are to a team that will repeatedly put the C’s into Pick and Roll/Pop situations.

Unlike Orlando, however, what the Lakers need to do … instead of having their Picker roll to the basket repeatedly, ala Dwight Howard … is have Pau Gasol set the Wing Pick … ala Bill Wennington [Chicago Bulls],

e.g. like what you see at the 4:40 and 4:50 marks of this video clip

… and then Pop Out to the Wing/Corner, in order to stretch the Celtics defense and allow their best player, i.e. Kobe Bryant, to facilitate the remainder of their half-court offense with their:

i. Other PF/C [i.e. Bynum/Odom/Powell] in the Weak Side Screening position;

ii. PG [i.e. Fisher/Farmar/Brown] in the Weak Side Corner position; and,

iii. SF [i.e. Artest/Vujacic/Walton] in the Weak Side Free Throw Line Extednded position.

Instead of having Kobe Bryant establish his initial position as the Weak Side Pinch Post player [i.e. #4, in the diagrams above] … which is precisely what the Lakers have done repeatedly, in all 5 games, thus far … Los Angeles needs to:

i. Put their best “Pick and Roll/Pop artist” in the Ball Side Wing/Corner position [i.e. #3, in the diagrams above];

ii. Get him the ball [i.e. either, via pass or dribble-handoff] after their initial Offensive Transition has failed to generate a high percentage FGA;

and, then,

iii. Allow him to go to work against the Celtics’ Defense, off the dribble, from the Wing position, with the rest of the floor spread in this manner.

If the Lakers execute this part of the Triangle Ofense … which Michael Jordan’s Bulls teams did so exquisitely with largely average Centers like Wennington, Luc Longley and Bill Cartwright … then, Los Angeles has a very good chance to force a Game 7, in what would go down in NBA history as an epic Finals series.

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PS. Dr. Phil is the winningest head coach in NBA history and it will be up to him to figure this out, and then make the Lakers execute this option within their offense. 

Related:

Five ways for the Lakers to win it all, again

The Year was 1993.

The Date was June 2.

The Round was the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Game was #5. 

The Combatants were: [i] The mighty Chicago Bulls … coached by Phil Jackson … and, [ii] The insurgent New York Knicks … with a Point Guard [and an irstwhile head coach] named Glenn “Doc” Rivers [#25].

The Big Plays … both, made and not made … coming down-the-stretch and, in particular, the final moments … have become indelibly etched in the memory banks of any true NBA connoisseur.

“The Charles Smith, Game 5”

* Michael Jordan, 29 pts, 10 rebounds and 14 assists

* “You got to have a very strong will and a very big heart, if you go down the lane against the New York Knicks.” - Mike Fratello [TV Analyst]

* 4 failed layup attempts to take the lead on the final possession for the losing team

* Defense is the backbone! 

What the NBA Playoffs are supposed to be about!

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Related:

Doc and Phil were there (and so was Charles Smith), 17 years ago today

A. GAME TIME!

… with the NBA Playoffs set to tip tomorrow afternoon.

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Enjoy the ride!

At the conclusion of an 82 game schedule …

there are now 10 teams left with a legitimate opportunity to win this year’s league championship … none of which are the Mavericks [W2], Suns [W3], Nuggets [W4], Celtics [E4], Bucks [E6] or Bulls [E8], according to the recent history of the NBA.

Related:

What it takes to win the NBA Championship

Chicago Bulls [39-41] 104
TORONTO RAPTORS [38-42] 88
Complete Game Info

If the Raptors use the same set of “strategies and tactics”, as they did last night, against Chicago, they will lose this evening at Detroit.

First.

1. Jarret Jack [25:00] played more minutes than Jose Calderon [24:11].

2. Marco Belinelli [22:49] played almost double the minutes of DeMar DeRozan [12:40].

3. Rasho Nesterovic played all of 45 seconds … while Reggie Evans got 9:24 of PT.

4. Andrea Bargnani was horrendous defensively AND on the boards, was 2-8/FG’s in the 2nd half, finished -15, overall, and, yet … was still rewarded with 39:23 of PT, primarily, because he just happened to score 14 points in the 1st half [5-8/FG's], while the Raptors were down by 10 points [48-58].

Those are decisions which are the sole responsibility of Jay Triano, Alex English, Marc Iavaroni and Micah Nori … all of whom should be called into question after last night’s “most-important-game-of-the-season” debacle.

Unfortunately, the suggestions which were listed here, before the game yesterday, for all to see … were NOT followed by the Raptors.

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Second.

Although Hedo Turkoglu really did try his hardest yesterday … i.e. witness his 19 rebounds and assorted other “hustle” plays throughout the contest … going 2-12 [31:54/MP] in a game of this magnitude is simply not good enough from a player “earning” $10.0 M per season.

Although Sonny Weems gave a maximum effort yesterday, Raptors fans need to understand that he was playing in his 1st really big NBA game … against experienced veterans, in the form of Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich [2-9/FG's] and Flip Murray, who have been to the playoffs multiple times in their respective careers to-date. Sonny was simply outplayed yesterday.

Although Amir Johnson gives his best effort at all times, he is still a very inexperienced player, who fouls indiscriminently and is going to be taken advantage of by cerebral opponents like Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Brad Miller.

Although Jose Calderon is limited defensively, he is still a better PG overall than Jarrett Jack, who has invested more time, energy and effort, on behalf of the Raptors franchise, than any other player on their team, except for CB4 … and, yet, yesterday, was rendered virtually helpless by the highly suspect personnel decisions of the coaching staff which chose to employ specific “strategies and tactics” that LED DIRECTLY to the performances of:

Derrick Rose’s 26 points
Joakim Noah’s 19 rebounds and 18 points
Taj Gibson’s 5-7/FG’s and 11 points
Luol Deng’s 5-10/FG’s and 14 points
Flip Murray’s 4-9/FG’s and 10 points
Hakim Warrick’s 3-6/FG’s and 10 points

and resulted in Jose receiving only 24:11 of playing time, with zero [0] minutes in the 4th quarter.

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Third.

As Michael Grange first wrote on his blog, 2 weeks ago …

No hope for the Raptors. None.

this Raptors team is in a TOTAL MESS, right now, and will be hard-pressed to qualify for the playoffs.

Although this corner disagreed with what Michael actually wrote, at the time … primarily because Chris Bosh was still in the line-up and had finally begun to play better, once again, in the aftermath of recovering from his post All-Star game injuries … the Raptors organization is a dysfunctional nightmare, at the moment, in Chris’ absence, and it would come as no surprise to see Toronto capitulate, both, at Detroit [tonight] and vs New York [on Wednesday].

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Fourth.

The specific “illness” this team is suffering from starts at the very top of the organization and works its way down to each and every level, and results in the sorrowful product that was on display last night, in the most important game of the season.

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Related:

Feschuk: Raptors pull a no-show

There’s an old adage in the world of sport that goes something like this:

“You should never, ever, take solace in the mis-fortune of your opponent.”

… because:

i. It’s simple not the right way to live your own life;

ii. The “Sporting Gods” do NOT shine their favour on those who fall prey to this affliction;

iii. The “Sporting” Gods do shine their favour, however, on those who focus on what they CAN DO themselves to give their own team the best chance of winning. Period.

In general, this is a tried and true philosophy which makes a great deal of sense … when it comes to NOT taking any solace in the mis-fortune that can sometimes befall AN OPPONENT.

As far as the Raptors are concerned, however …

This adage HAPPENS NOT TO APPLY … when the misfortune, in question, actually be-falls a player on YOUR OWN TEAM!

To wit:

Yes, the Raptors are about to take the court this evening against the Bulls, as a battered and bruised team.

EXhibit A

Chris Bosh/PF is out of the Raptors’ line-up indefinitely while recovering from facial fractures he sustained this past week, against Cleveland. This fact hurts the Raptors’ chances for a W tonight.

Exhibit B

Hedo Turkoglu/SF is in the line-up for this evening’s game, but with a protective mask on his face his face to guard against incurring further damage to his own broken nose, sustained this past week, against Boston. Since Turkoglu simply hates wearing a protective mask on his face, this fact also hurts the Raptors’ chances for a W tonight.

Exhibit C

Amir Johnson/PF … who replaced Chris Bosh in the Raptors’ Starting Line-up against Atlanta … is playing in this evening’s game, but with a slightly sprained ankle which he incurred during the 2nd half. This fact hurts the Raptors’ chances for a W tonight.

Exhibit D

Jarrett Jack/PG … their solid Back-up to Jose Calderon … is playing in this evening’s game, but with a slightly sprained ankle/foot which he also incurred during the 4th quarter against Atlanta. This fact hurts the Raptors’ chances for a W tonight.

But, all hope is far from lost for the Raptors, as …

Exhibit E

Antoine Wright/SF-OG … their defensive specialist at the wing positions and the primary back-up to Turkoglu and Sonny Weems … is out of the line-up indefinitely with a severely sprained right ankle which he incurred during the 4th quarter against Atlanta. This fact HELPS the Raptors’ chances for a W tonight … in a major way.

Huh? … What’s that you say?

It’s impossible to have a 5th injured player from a team’s regular rotation out of the line-up completely for a do-or-die, quasi-elimination game … and, somehow, believe that HIS ABSENCE will actually help his team get a W in that game.

Well, you know what?

NOT IN THIS INSTANCE!

If the Raptors are forced to use a tight 8-Man rotation which looks like this:

it says here that Toronto WILL WIN TONIGHT’S GAME AGAINST THE CHICAGO BULLS …

because using Antoine Wright, as a defensive specialist … when he isn’t very good on defense, to begin with, AND is absolutely horrid on offense, MOST of the time … is actually a huge detriment to the Raptors ever being able to win any game against a decent-to-good opponent when their team could instead be giving his PT to:

a. Sonny Weems, or
b. Hedo Turkoglu, or
c. DeMar DeRozan, or
d. Marco Belinelli,

at the same time as it is also giving increased PT to Amir Johnson [i.e. an athletic rebounder/defender] and Rasho Nesterovic [i.e. a non athletic rebounder/defender].

The fact is … not having Antoine Wright in the line-up tonight is a HUGE CASE of “Addition by Subtraction”, in favour of the Raptors.

After being in the line-up for the Cavaliers, on Tuesday, at home vs the Raptors …

this season’s expected NBA MVP was held out of last night’s game, on the road vs the Bulls, “resting with bumps and bruises” …

Whoever said that life was supposed to be fair, anyways?

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With only 4 games left in the regular season schedule for both Toronto and Chicago … and,

* The Raptors holding the tie-breaker

* The Bulls unexpected W last night

* The huge head-to-head tilt on tap for Sunday

it is going to very interesting to see how certain members of the Raptors respond to the challenge now at-hand.

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Whatever your specific answer might be to this question, it will say a great deal about what you think of the actual “NBA talent” level for the different individuals with a “?” beside their names.