PIPPEN EARNING MASTER'S DEGREE IN DEFENSE
The NBA Finals always has been considered different from the other major team sports, where the outcome can change because of a great individual: a pitcher, say, or a goaltender.
Like Dominik Hasek against the world in the Olympics, or Sandy Koufax against the Yankees.
Or Scottie Pippen against the Utah Jazz.
[COLOR="Red"]"Scottie is floating," said John Stockton, Utah's star guard who contributed five turnovers to the Jazz's stunning total of 26 in the Bulls' 96-54 masterpiece Sunday in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. "Use whatever term you want. He's coming across . . . off his man. With his length and athleticism, we're letting him come across (to disrupt the Jazz offense). He certainly did it, and I thought he was a huge key with his defense."[/COLOR]
It was a defensive masterpiece by the Bulls, one unmatched in NBA history, not to mention Finals history. The Jazz's 54 points might have been just enough to beat the Green Bay Packers.
This wasn't a basketball game, it was Kerry Wood blowing away the Houston Astros. It was Bob Gibson in the World Series.
[COLOR="Red"]It was one man taking out a team.[/COLOR]
Oh, sure, this was a team effort by the Bulls. Ron Harper was wonderful in steering Stockton toward the baseline to limit the options on the Jazz's famed pick-and-roll. So was Michael Jordan, who took just 14 shots but still had 24 points to lead the Bulls
[COLOR="Red"]But it was mostly Pippen, who has thwarted the Jazz like no other player, never mind a whole team[/COLOR]. And his 10 points, four rebounds and four assists were only part of the story.
[COLOR="Red"]After the Bulls defeated the Jazz in the Finals last season, Stockton's summary was that the Jazz had no answer for Pippen[/COLOR]. Utah is still failing that test.
[COLOR="Red"]"The luxury for us is to have a defender like Scottie who can cover probably more than one situation at a time," coach Phil Jackson said.
"Play a man, play a play. And he's able to hang tight to whomever he is playing, if it's a (Greg) Foster or a (Bryon) Russell, (Greg) Ostertag. And recover to help on the defensive set so they can't operate. And he's big enough to handle (Karl) Malone outside off the pick-and-roll."[/COLOR]
If the Bulls win these Finals, Pippen should be the Most Valuable Player.
It's been a nice touch by Jackson, who has used Pippen somewhat differently the last two games.
In much of Game 1, Pippen played Russell, the Jazz's athletic forward who has turned reluctant shooter the last two games. Since then Pippen has been more of a power forward or even a center. That has enabled him to become sort of a free safety on defense.
He'll jump up to stop Stockton coming across and slow the Jazz, which likes to score off transition. Then Pippen falls back to a weaker offensive player--Ostertag or Foster--and is free to search out the Jazz's proclivities.
"A lot of times Phil wants me to be a help defender," Pippen said. "I'm trying to get them away from the basket and out of sets when I stop Stockton at the half-court mark. Defense is something I take a lot of pride in. In this series I'm playing more (power forward) or maybe (center)."
And he can be available at the basket--twice Pippen jumped over to take charges from Malone.
The Jazz obviously believes Pippen was in an illegal position on defense, but admitted to panicking, in a sense, by not holding the ball to make Pippen commit and then hitting the open man.
But Pippen has been too quick, his long arms and quick feet jarring the Jazz's usually strong resolve.
Something like this happened to the Jazz a month ago against a great Spurs defensive team. Utah scored 64 points in a Game 3 loss at San Antonio.
"John, Karl and myself all played terrible in that game," Jeff Hornacek recalled. "We all went to dinner in the team hotel and told each other, `You stink. No, you stink. No, you stink.' We could joke about it. That's the type of team we are."
It didn't appear the Jazz players were laughing Sunday. Coach Jerry Sloan and Malone both suggested the Bulls ran up the score at the end to try to embarrass them.
"If a game like this can't get you motivated to play, nothing else will," Malone said. "You watch the ending of a game like this, you should be ready to play the next game."
What the Jazz will do with Pippen, however, is the question.
[COLOR="Red"]"There have been terrific defenders in the history of the Finals," Jackson said. "You can go back to (Michael) Cooper for the Lakers, and Bobby Jones with the 76ers and other players who have played outstanding defense. The majority of those players are great one-on-one players. Scottie is able to be a one-man wrecking crew."[/COLOR]
-chicago tribune, 6/9/98