Re: Pippen

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

Warwick,

You're not making any sense here. Are you saying that "Dennis Rodman can be 
considered a player who is effective without scoring points" implies "Pippen
is overrated"? As we have been reminded of in recent days, Bill Russell was 
a player who dominated without scoring gobs of points. Scoring is not the only
way to be a star. My point, which is not affected by any mention of Dennis
Rodman, is that Pippen's contributions can't be measured simply by an ability to
shoot the basketball (which he is not especially good at), which leads some to 
consider him overrated. He's an exceptional rebounder and passer at his 
position, an excellent open court player, and most importantly a dominating 
defensive player. 

I happen to think that Dennis Rodman was quite an effective player in the 
league in any case. Many people seem to have an idea that if you don't win a
championship, you are a loser; and even if you do win a championship, if you
weren't the best player on your team, you are a loser. There is one non-loser
in the league right now, Olajuwon, and he can't carry his team anymore either. 
I suppose that there will be another non-loser created this season, except 
that he will probably still be a loser in some minds because he won it in a 
lockout shortened season. 

Alex

> > I tend to think that those who think that Pippen has been an overrated
> > player throughout his career do so because they can't appreciate his
> > defensive effectiveness. Pippen was a great example of a player who didn't
> > need to score loads of points to have a big effect on the game, i.e. the
> > type of player we hope Walker will develop into.
> 
> I'd agree with some of what you said but the above is what I *hate* about
> Pippen.. .The same thing could be said about a multitude of players "didn't
> need to score loads of points to have a big effect on the game" one for
> example is Dennis Rodman.... Now, justify your statement with the addition of
> Rodman to that group..
> 
> Warwick
>