The Eye Candy

BAD ASS BITCH. FUCK YOU KANYE

Scottie Pippen "I was more than just a role player

In my opinion Scottie Maurice Pippen help revolutionize the point forward position and usher in a new age of ball players who were both athletically breathtaking and fundamentally sound at the same time. To say he was just a sidekick or crony would be undermining the brilliant career of one of the best wing man to ever play the game. Before him point guards were the ones responsible for bringing the ball up court and iniating the offense. With his ball handling abilities the bulls guards were allowed to go spot up for threes and Jordan could conserve energy without having to iniate every single possession himself. Without Jordan there is no Pippen and without Pippen there is no Jordan.

• Pippen's ability to play point forward and guard the other team's best player set him apart from a lot of his contemporaries. Pippen , Jordan, and Grant allowed Johnny Bach to unleash what he called his doberman defense to unleash hell on other teams by trapping and picking up pressure full court. During the Bulls encounter with the Lakers during their championship run Phil Jackson switched Michael Jordan off of Magic Johnson and put Scottie Pippen on him because he was a bigger version of Michael and he could pressure man to man as well as play the passing lanes.This was one of the moves that helped changed the tide of that series which the Bulls eventually won.
• Pippen's talents were often over looked because he played beside Michael Jordan, but if you take a look at what happened when his Airness went off to supposedly play baseball, Scottie had two of the best years statistically of his career.
• In 1993-1994 when Jordan retired Pippen finally emerged from his shadow and displayed the ability that we all knew he had. He earned All Star MVP honors, led the Bulls in scoring,assists and the entire league in steals, averaging 22pts, 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.9 steals, 1.9 threes, 1 block, while shooting 49% from the field and 32% from the three point line. For his efforts he earned the first of 3 straight All NBA First Team honors, finished third in MVP voting and led the Bulls to 55 wins two fewer than the year before with Jordan. No disrespect to Hakeem, but Pippen should have won MVP that year.
• The following year Pippen became one of only four men in history to lead his team in assists, points, rebounds, steals and blocks. If that is not versatility then I want to know what is. Lamar Odom couldn't produce that shit on a fucking video game, so kill that shit about Pippen being a sidekick or role player. Role players don't lead shit or finish third in anything unless it's disappointing mutherfuckers.
• People compared Grant Hill to Mike. I think a better comparison would have been him and Scottie. Scottie could dunk on anyone (JUST ASK PATRICK EWING), run the show, D you up, rebound and hit the three with the best of them.
• His best quality was realizing that ego maniac Jordan needed to be the man and filling in the blanks for the Bulls. He carved out a career in doing all the less glamorous shit and making it look good.
• His own team didn't realize what they had and wanted to replace him with Toni Kukoc. Scottie's response was to shut his ass down in the 92 Olympics and show the world that he was the second most versatile player on the planet to Michael Jordan. Think Pippen didn't like challenges or the spotlight. Remember when Van Gundy had Larry Johnson guard Michael Jordan in an effort to slow him down. Scottie having his boy's back went out and scored 47 on the Knicks and showed them the Bulls were more than just a one trick pony.
• Who could ever forget Scottie dunking on Patrick Ewing in the Conf Semis and telling Spike Lee to sit his dumbass down. Also what role player do you know that had his own shoe with Nike and was a member of the original dream team.
• To sum things up when I look at the Bulls I saw SUPERMAN(MICHAEL JORDAN), BATMAN(SCOTTIE PIPPEN) AND RODMAN(DENNIS RODMAN). Scottie belongs in the top 50 because numbers don't always describe a player's impact on a game. Scottie was one of the few players who could dominate a game without scoring points and his ability to guard anyone at anytime changed how you played the Bulls. Congrats on your induction onto the HOF and hopefully  James can live up to your stature while he is down in South Beach playing second fiddle to Wade.
• I'm out like Tigeer Wood's game

TheLowDown: Heat Checking The Man Now None As James

TheLowDown: Heat Checking The Man Now None As James: "When LeBron Raymone James was drafted #1 by the Cleveland Cavaliers, I knew that I was seeing history made. In all my years of watching bask..."

Why Does Loving Michael Mean You Have To Hate Kobe

The thing that has always puzzled me during my years of watching ball has been why do people pick sides when it comes to appreciating and admiring the games of His Airness and The Mamba. I have yet to meet the man that has love for both of these athletes without getting caught up in whose better. The problem is unless you are a Laker fan you are pre programmed into hating Kobe. He was fighting a losing battle from day one, because his speech, mannerisms, actions, and emotions all reminded you of Mike. There were many guys before him such as Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, and Harold Miner who were all thought to be the next Michael, but none of them were hated or ridiculed. Instead Penny and Grant were seen as good players in their own right and that buffoon Miner was never heard from again after winning the slam dunk contest. Kobe much like a lot of guys from his era grew up in a time when all they knew was to be the man meant leading the league in scoring, serving up facials, having your own shoe and hitting game winning shots. Oh yeah and having Ahmad Rashad dick ride your every move. How can you hate Kobe for wanting to emulate the best one on one player to ever play the game?. He was just following the blueprint that A PIMP NAMES STERN had already laid out. Gone were the days of the Celtics, Lakers, Sixers, and Pistons. That got replaced by Michael Jordan and his supporting cast. Kobe dreamed of the day that Marv Albert  would say yeeeessssss and it counts or that Dan Patrick would say on Sports Center you can't stop him, you can only hope to contain him.

• Comparing Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant's stats is totally unfair to both players, because their paths were so very different. Mike came into a team that  enabled him to be the man from day one. Kobe was drafted by the Hornets and traded  to a Laker team that belonged to Shaq Daddy.
• For his career Kobe is averaging 25.3pts 5ast 5reb 1.5stl and Jordan is avereged 30pts 5ast 6reb 2.3 stl. In the playoffs Kobe is averaging 25.5pts 5ast 5reb and Jordan averaged 33pts 6ast 6reb.
• Kobe detractors will be quick to note that Jordan stats were  better but from 1996-2004 the number one option on the Lakers was Shaq. Kobe's numbers would compare more favorably to Mike if he was the number option, but would he have the Chips who knows.
• Kobe is a 5x NBA CHAMPION, 2X NBA FINALS MVP,12 TIME NBA ALL STAR, 2X SCORING CHAMPION, 8X ALL NBA 1ST TEAM, 2X ALL NBA 2ND TEAM, 2X ALL NBA 3RD TEAM, 8X ALL DEFENSIVE 1ST TEAM, 2X ALL DEFENSIVE 2ND TEAM, NBA ALL ROOKIE TEAM, 3X NBA ALL STAR MVP, NBA SLAM DUNK CHAMP, AND NAISMITH PREP PLAYER OF THE YEAR.
• Jordan is a 6x NBA CHAMPION, 5X NBA MVP, 14X NBA ALL STAR, 6X NBA FINALS MVP, 10X ALL NBA 1ST TEAM, 2ND TEAM ALL NBA, 9X ALL DEFENSIVE TEAM, NBA ALL ROOKIE TEAM, 3X NBA ALL STAR MVP, 2X SLAM DUNK CHAMPION, AND NAISMITH COLLEGE PLAYER OF THE YEAR.
• If you look at their careers closely they have both done some remarkable things. Kobe scored 62 points on the Dallas Mavericks on Dec 20, 2005 and he did it in 3 quarters. He outscored the entire Mavericks team and that is only tome that shit has ever been done since the advent of the 24 second clock. If that was Jordan dvd's of that game would have went on sale the next day and and classic sports would still be playing that game. Instead all we have are youtube moments of that shit.
• On Jan 22,2006 Bryant scored 81 on the Raptors which to this day is second only to Wilt's 100. In the same month Bryant became the first player since 1964 to score 45 points on more in 4 consective games joining Wilt and Baylor. Bryant averaged 43.4 for the month of Jan, second only to Wilt. Kobe haters say he shoots too much and he is a ball hog. For real mutherfucker. That might explain how Jordan lead the league in scoring every year. You have to shoot a lot to score a lot last time I checked, but no one talks about Jordan not sharing the ball.
• On March 16, 2007 Bryant scored a season high 65 points in a win against Portland. The second highest of his career. The next night he scored 50 against the Timberwolves and then 60 against the Grizzlies a feat not seen since Jordan did it in 1987. The very next day Kobe scored 50 against the Hornets making him the second player in NBA history to have 4 straight 50 point games behind Wilt who did it 7 straight games. Bryant finished the year with ten 50 plus games, becoming the only player other than Wilt to accomplish such a feat. You know what makes Kobe feats that much more impressive were the fact that he was playing with Kwame fucking Brown and that bitchass Smush Parker. Don't forget Chris Mihm, Jermaine Jones and Chucky Atkins. That alone should be worth three MVP awards.
• You and I both know Kobe's scoring ability is second to none. When he is on is there anything prettier to watch. Jumper after jumper regardless of the defender or the situation. Kobe always said scoring is the easiest thing to do in the game of basketball to him. He sacrificed numbers in the first half of his career so that Shaq would be happy. The second half of his career he has shown that can lead his team just like Mike did in scoring and in victories.
• Let's get down to what really counts. 5 Finals victories in 7 years with two different teams. Kobe first run featured two top 50 players in himself and Shaq. Jordan's first three peat featured two top 50 players in himself and Pippen. Kobe's second team features no such player, but Jordan second's three peat featured himself, Pippen and Rodman and the best foreign player in the league in Toni Kukoc. By comparison Kobe does have Sasha and he played with Slava Medvadenko.
• Argue with yourself if you want, but can you see two alpha males such as Jordan and Shaq co existing. Yeah I can see it now Jordan dumping the ball into Shaq repeatedly and standing on the wing looking like B.J. Armstrong waiting to shoot an open three. Now imagine Kobe with a wing man like Pippen having his back. The nearest thing to Scottie that Kobe has is that enigma Lamar Odom. Jordan never won without Scottie and Kobe has won without Shaq.
• 1 more title and even you Kobe haters will have to recognize his greatness. 2 more titles and you can't say shit. Winning chips is all that matters and The Mamba has 23 dead in his sights.
• Before you lay down at night think about this. If there was no Jordan who would I be calling the greatest ever. If there was no Jordan who would be the standard  for two guards to be measured against and if there was no Jordan would I really dislike Kobe. Remember no one hates buffoons or impostors. We only hate people and teams that are successful and head and shoulders better than everyone else. Deep down you don't dislike Kobe. You appreciate the way he stares down the legacy of Jordan and go after with his deadly fade away, impressive footwork, tenacious defense,and a bulldog like intensity that makes Goldberg look like Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin.
• Appreciate his game now because when he is gone you be forced to watch and hate on who.