Talented but Questionable: Pippen’s alpha regime as a Bull provides doubt

When Scottie Pippen got his chance to be the alpha with the Chicago Bulls, he didn’t exactly make the most of the opportunity.

The tenure of Michael Jordan’s retirement provided the NBA world a true glimpse of what Scottie Pippen could be as the centerpiece and franchise player for the Chicago Bulls. The decisive decision from Jordan to retire was a sudden one that for many other NBA teams would have left their front offices scrambling to rebuild their unit on the fly.

Yet, Chicago was coming off of three straight championships and rightfully felt they had the team without Jordan to compete in the Eastern Conference for the time being. To them, it was no time to panic over spoiled milk, because they believed they had a deep enough team to defend their Championship dynasty.

Pippen had now become the lead dog in Phil Jackson’s triangle offense that was designed to possess more man movement and ball movement with Scottie as the on-court conductor. Pippen had been the playmaker and served as Jordan’s alternate ball-handler in his prior role during certain halfcourt sets.

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He conducted his requisite role when Michael flanked him opposite the wing, and it was of a player build that is ultra-common in today’s game. Pippen was a premier small forward who had elite two-way ability and a playmaking gift that could facilitate the offensive productivity of others. Now in the 1993-94 season, he was expected to be the Alpha dog on a three-time defending championship team.

In Episode 7 of ESPN’s ‘The Last Dance’ documentary, Pippen’s run as the face of the Bulls was a slim chapter that was documented and described as one of decorated achievement, but imperfect imbalance. Scottie obtained individual accolades for himself Via an all-star Game MVP in 1994 and showcased his all-around gameplay through solid statistical averages during the season (21.4 PPG, 5.2 AST, 8.1 REB, 2.9 STL, 1.1 BLK).

However, his shortcomings in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks present a reason to question how impactful he was as the team’s newly- bestowed franchise player.

Scottie’s play wasn’t the only ones to emerge under Phil Jackson’s MJ’less triangle offense, however. Point guard BJ Armstrong was an all-star as well that year averaging 14 points on 44 percent 3-point shooting. Horace Grant was the team’s second-leading scorer averaging a double-double (15 PPG, 11 REB) while protecting the rim and the floor as a defender (1.2 BLK, 1.1 STL).

Those achievements helped Grant also secure his lone all-star berth. Then, there was Toni Kukoc who in his first NBA season from overseas held his own as a multi-dimensional offensive product (10.9 PPG, 4.0 REB, 3.4 AST) although he was much maligned on the defensive end.

That 55-27 Bulls team finished No. 3 in scoring defense and sixth in defensive rating led by Pippen’s tenacious on-ball defense on the perimeter. This mantra carried them to a first-round series sweep over the Cleveland Cavaliers who they held to under 95 points per game. Pippen continued his First-Team All-NBA season with averaging 25 points, nine assists, four rebounds, and three steals per game in the series.

Chicago seemed poised to make a deep playoff run and had eyes on another Eastern Conference Finals appearance. Then, the Knicks happened.

Pippen put up similar statistics in that series too, but his points per game dipped about two ticks and although he was filling the stat-sheet from a points, rebounds, and assists per game perspective, his shooting from the field was very anemic, to say the least. As the team’s best player, Pippen shot a woeful 40 percent from the field in the seven-game series against the Knicks accompanied with a Game 3 meltdown in the final seconds over feeling Toni Kukoc robbed him of a chance to get a last-second shot opportunity to win the game and salvage the series.

Scottie actually had a productive game that night, shooting over 50 percent from the field on 20 shots and had made two of his four 3’s. It’s just according to Phil Jackson’s account on the Doc, Kukoc provided a higher rate of success because of the play he drew up for him late in the game. Toni made the bucket and saved the Bulls from a potential 3-0 series hole all while Scottie resided on the bench in a sulking state.

The team addressed Scottie’s selfish lapse in judgment, and Pippen apologized for the incident. The Bulls wound up winning two more games in the series but didn’t win the eventual seven-game playoff bout against the Knicks in the franchise’s lone playoff experience minus Michael Jordan in the 1990s.

Pippen had ended his lone full season as the Bull’s leader and centerpiece with mixed experience and a staunch label. He was a First-Team All-NBA selection, an All-NBA Defensive First Teamer, and finished third in league MVP voting that season. Scottie was a decorated player with immense talent and ability but arguably lacked the intangibles to be the driving force of a championship team.

In Game 5 against the Knicks, in a 2-2 series, Pippen had a controversial foul on New York’s Hubert Davis from deep late in the game with the Bulls up by two proved that point.

The late closeout that resulted in a foul sullied a complete performance he did have during the night (23 points, four assists, four rebounds; 8-18 FG, 3-6 3PT). Davis made his three clutch free-throws to put the Knicks ahead, and a valiant late-game pass attempt to Pippen in the waning moments was thwarted and so too were the Bull’s chances of stealing Game 5 on the road.

Then, with a chance to redeem himself at Madison Square Garden in Game 7, Pippen folded from the field shooting a pedestrian 8 -22 from the field, making only one of his six 3-point attempts. Chicago didn’t even crack 80 points and lost three of the four quarters en route to a 10-point series-clinching loss.

Pippen is revered by many as one of the great two-way wings of his era. In that sense, there is no disputing such a fact. Scottie is and always will be a game-changing playmaker who redefined the small forward position at the turn of the century.

However, such can be true along with the fact that he never truly was this dynamo franchise-player that history revisionist paint him as. In his chance to prove such was the case in the 1994 playoffs, he arguably wilted under the pressure and didn’t produce when the game got tight.

The following year, a Scottie-led Bulls team, that albeit was minus Horace Grant, struggled out of the gate. They limped to a 33-31 record in March until Michael Jordan returned and they went 24-2 to end the season. The Chicago Bulls didn’t win the title that season, but it provided clarity that albeit Pippen was an important cog during the Bulls dynastic run, Michael Jordan was the true equalizer that made Chicago the dynasty of the 1990s.