Scottie Pippen vs Clyde Drexler

[Roundball_Rock]

Drexler was was the leader of his team then and was guarding MJ.

Where was he when his team was collapsing? This was prime Drexler, allegedly the second best player in the NBA at the time and he was not able to stem the tide.

Drexler averaged 22/6/5/2 in 1995. It isn't as if he was a scrub by 95'. Drexler was an 18 ppg scorer even in 1998.

Go to basketball reference, search for a player and click on game logs. For the 90's and beyond they have game logs for playoff games so I just calculated his averages for the finals.

Pippen outplayed Drexler in 92'. He was the second best player in that series behind the GOAT. Too bad MJ fans cannot give him credit for this. You can legitimately say that Drexler>Pippen but in the 92' finals it was obvious that Pippen>Drexler. The 92' finals came up because someone trotted out the usual MJ card regarding Pippen. The fact is Clyde could have won in 92' if he outplayed Pippen. The margin was not big. A bit better play by Drexler would have given Portland, the far more talented team, the series. Remember that they lost game 6 by only 3 points...

[juju151111]

Where was he when his team was collapsing? This was prime Drexler, allegedly the second best player in the NBA at the time and he was not able to stem the tide.

Drexler averaged 22/6/5/2 in 1995. It isn't as if he was a scrub by 95'. Drexler was an 18 ppg scorer even in 1998.

Go to basketball reference, search for a player and click on game logs. For the 90's and beyond they have game logs for playoff games so I just calculated his averages for the finals.

Pippen outplayed Drexler in 92'. He was the second best player in that series behind the GOAT. Too bad MJ fans cannot give him credit for this. You can legitimately say that Drexler>Pippen but in the 92' finals it was obvious that Pippen>Drexler. The 92' finals came up because someone trotted out the usual MJ card regarding Pippen. The fact is Clyde could have won in 92' if he outplayed Pippen. The margin was not big. A bit better play by Drexler would have given Portland, the far more talented team, the series. Remember that they lost game 6 by only 3 points...

na He couldn't outplay pip with Prime Mj guarding him and abusing him on offense. LOL at Portland winning. Who was going to stop Mj in gm 7 at home. LOL GTFO Pippen was great nobody is saying otherwise.

[chitownsfinest]

Roundball, you fail to give the Bulls any credit again. Yes, Pippen was probably the mvp of that 4th Q but he didn't do everything. Bobby Hansen hit a clutch 3 (not assisted by Pippen) and had a clutch steal in that quarter. Stacey King scored 5 points (3 from the free throw line) and B.J. Armstrong scored a big bucket as well (off the dribble). Pippen did have 11 points in that quarter, including a big three to tie it and a shot to give the Bulls the lead. MJ came in with the Bulls down by 5 and scored 12 points from that point onwards including two late baskets to close the game out for good, some clutch D on Clyde, and two free throws. Scott Williams had a clutch block as well. I still call Pip the mvp because he hit the big three (difficult one as well) and I believe he had a offensive board as well. Just do not act like Pippen was solely responsible for that 4th quarter.

As for the question, I take Pippen.

[AirJordan23]

I'd take Pip. When you factor in defense, unselfishness, team play and success, Pippen takes it. And yeah sure, Drexler led his team to the finals as the first option but we never got to see what Pip could really do as a first option. The one year in '94, he lead the Bulls to the ECSF against the Knicks and they probably make the finals if it wasn't for the phantom call against Pip. Pip didn't foul Davis yet Hollins gave the Knicks the benefit of the doubt and the Knicks won. In '95, they were around .500 due to not having a post presence or interior defender since Grant left. So, I don't really think bringing Drexler's accomplishments as the man should be brought up as an argument.

As for comparing their games. Drexler is better when it comes to scoring. Ball handling is an edge to Pippen. Defense, rebounding and passing go to Pippen as well. Pippen had a better all around game than Drexler but not his dominance and the ways in which Drexler would score. And I would say that Pippen is more versatile. It's pretty close, though. I'd take Pip but arguments could be made for either depending on your criteria.

[chitownsfinest]

I'd take Pip. When you factor in defense, unselfishness, team play and success, Pippen takes it. And yeah sure, Drexler led his team to the finals as the first option but we never got to see what Pip could really do as a first option. The one year in '94, he lead the Bulls to the ECSF against the Knicks and they probably make the finals if it wasn't for the phantom call against Pip. Pip didn't foul Davis yet Hollins gave the Knicks the benefit of the doubt and the Knicks won. In '95, they were around .500 due to not having a post presence or interior defender since Grant left. So, I don't really think bringing Drexler's accomplishments as the man should be brought up as an argument.

As for comparing their games. Drexler is better when it comes to scoring. Ball handling is an edge to Pippen. Defense, rebounding and passing go to Pippen as well. Pippen had a better all around game than Drexler but not his dominance and the ways in which Drexler would score. And I would say that Pippen is more versatile. It's pretty close, though. I'd take Pip but arguments could be made for either depending on your criteria.

Passing is debatable imo. Clyde was an amazing passer.

[millwad]

Drexler didnt outplay Pippen because Jordan locked down Drexler.

Guys who Pippen defended outplayed him. Prime example was Penny Hardaway.

25/8/8 doesn't sound like locking someone down...

[chitownsfinest]

25/8/8 doesn't sound like locking someone down...

It was 25/8/5 on 41% shooting. Jordan locked him down to go 8/24 in game 6 and 1 for his last 6 shots in game 3.

[D.J.]

It was 25/8/5 on 41% shooting. Jordan locked him down to go 8/24 in game 6 and 1 for his last 6 shots in game 3.

Even with the mediocre shooting percentages, Clyde was still scoring whether it was from the field, or at the foul line. Not to mention he was still grabbing eight rebounds and handing out five assists. His numbers against the Bulls were very similar to his regular season numbers, minus the shooting percentages. Locking down would mean Clyde averaging something along the lines of 15/5/3.

[chitownsfinest]

Even with the mediocre shooting percentages, Clyde was still scoring whether it was from the field, or at the foul line. Not to mention he was still grabbing eight rebounds and handing out five assists. His numbers against the Bulls were very similar to his regular season numbers, minus the shooting percentages. Locking down would mean Clyde averaging something along the lines of 15/5/3.

Assists and Reb's are beyond MJ's control on defense. Considering Clyde shot 60 points below his season average on fg%, I would definitely consider it close to locking down. Clyde also averaged 3 to's per game which is a indication of MJ's D. Clyde also was 3/20 from the three point line in the series and if I remember correctly, MJ's D caused Clyde to have like 5-6 air balls. Regardless, MJ locked him down in game 6 (most important game in the series) to go 8-24 and locked him down to go 1 for his last 6 in the end of game 3. Also the 41% shooting shows that MJ's D caused Clyde to ruin a lot of possessions by bricking shots.

If it isn't locking down, wouldn't you at least call it great D considering MJ was guarding an all time great and had to lead his team on the offensive end as well?

[AirJordan23]

Passing is debatable imo. Clyde was an amazing passer.

You're probably right. My judgment is most likely incorrect since the Clyde I have in mind is the one in Houston where he was pretty injury prone and playing second fiddle to Hakeem while I did see a prime Pip. I have seen some tapes of a prime Drexler (92 finals) but never to the degree where I could make a proper judgment. Pip seemed a better passer to me because he was really smart. He knew when to make the entry pass, had the instincts and the length which made him a pretty good passer. I just thought Pippen's court vision was better than Glide's.

[millwad]

Where was he when his team was collapsing? This was prime Drexler, allegedly the second best player in the NBA at the time and he was not able to stem the tide.

Drexler averaged 22/6/5/2 in 1995. It isn't as if he was a scrub by 95'. Drexler was an 18 ppg scorer even in 1998.

Go to basketball reference, search for a player and click on game logs. For the 90's and beyond they have game logs for playoff games so I just calculated his averages for the finals.

Pippen outplayed Drexler in 92'. He was the second best player in that series behind the GOAT. Too bad MJ fans cannot give him credit for this. You can legitimately say that Drexler>Pippen but in the 92' finals it was obvious that Pippen>Drexler. The 92' finals came up because someone trotted out the usual MJ card regarding Pippen. The fact is Clyde could have won in 92' if he outplayed Pippen. The margin was not big. A bit better play by Drexler would have given Portland, the far more talented team, the series. Remember that they lost game 6 by only 3 points...

Clyde Drexler was the 1st option in '92, Pippen was the 2nd. If you play with someone named Michael Jordan you're gonna get damn many open looks. I would never compare a SG playing against the best SG and player by all-time with the other team's 2nd option at another position...

Pippen was never the leader and he never did **** as a leader on ANY team. He was a very good 2nd option but no sane person would choose Pippen over Drexler. Drexler led those Portland teams to 2 finals. Okey, Portland had great players but Drexler was the leader, the best job Pippen did as a leader was to quit on his teammates when his coach told the players to pass Kukoc for the gamewinning shot...


Clyde Drexler was the 1st option in '92, Pippen was the 2nd. If you play with someone named Michael Jordan you're gonna get damn many open looks. I would never compare a SG playing against the best SG and player by all-time with the other team's 2nd option at another position...

Pippen was never the leader and he never did **** as a leader on ANY team. He was a very good 2nd option but no sane person would choose Pippen over Drexler. Drexler led those Portland teams to 2 finals. Okey, Portland had great players but Drexler was the leader, the best job Pippen did as a leader was to quit on his teammates when his coach told the players to pass Kukoc for the gamewinning shot...

[chitownsfinest]

Clyde Drexler was the 1st option in '92, Pippen was the 2nd. If you play with someone named Michael Jordan you're gonna get damn many open looks. I would never compare a SG playing against the best SG and player by all-time with the other team's 2nd option at another position...

Pippen was never the leader and he never did **** as a leader on ANY team. He was a very good 2nd option but no sane person would choose Pippen over Drexler. Drexler led those Portland teams to 2 finals. Okey, Portland had great players but Drexler was the leader, the best job Pippen did as a leader was to quit on his teammates when his coach told the players to pass Kukoc for the gamewinning shot...


Clyde Drexler was the 1st option in '92, Pippen was the 2nd. If you play with someone named Michael Jordan you're gonna get damn many open looks. I would never compare a SG playing against the best SG and player by all-time with the other team's 2nd option at another position...

Pippen was never the leader and he never did **** as a leader on ANY team. He was a very good 2nd option but no sane person would choose Pippen over Drexler. Drexler led those Portland teams to 2 finals. Okey, Portland had great players but Drexler was the leader, the best job Pippen did as a leader was to quit on his teammates when his coach told the players to pass Kukoc for the gamewinning shot...

Uhh.... Pippen averaged 21.7 ppg on 49 % shooting in his two yrs as the first option. He averaged 19 ppg on 50% shooting from 91-93. If he really relied on MJ that bad for open looks and scoring, wouldn't his numbers go down? Stop with the BS, Pip was a smart player on offense and had a good shot selection. His jumper was a bit in-consistent, but he was well polished offensively other then that.

[millwad]

I already owned you on this by looking up their head-to-head records. Pippen once dropped a triple double against Penny.

@ this criticism. MJ is the ultimate competitor, no? If Pippen was allegedly getting crushed by Penny why did the ultimate competitor not demand that he be assigned to Penny? Obviously MJ liked Pip's job on Penny.

Pip owning Penny and Shaq. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1dZ9...eature=related



6>1



25/8/5 is being shut down? 41% shooting is not great but it is not horrible either against a great defense in the NBA finals.

Drexler's stats in the 95' finals were similar. 22/10 (9.5)/7 on 45% shooting. Basketball reference does not have game logs for the 89' playoffs so I could not look up his stats for that series.

We have Drexler's record in two NBA finals and it is similar to Pippen's. When you factor in defense then Pippen's finals performances clearly>Drexler's. In 93' Pippen almost averaged a triple double for the entire finals with a 21/9/8/2 line!

Besides, MJ was on the bench when Portland led with 17 with thirteen minutes left in the game. Drexler was out there with his all-star filled crew against Pippen and a bunch of scrubs. What happened? Pippen and four backbenchers went on a huge run to cut the lead to 3 before MJ came back into the game. Watch the video. Pippen was involved in practically every point produced during that run. He either scored it directly or facilitated it. This was prime Clyde Drexler out there. Why was he letting Pippen, allegedly an overrated borderline all-star, do this with a bunch of scrubs against him? Also if you watch the video notice MJ's reaction to the run. He is cheering. He is not clamoring to get back in. Why? He knew the team was in good hands and it would not suffer while he rested because of the great #33 being out there.

Doesn't matter what you say about those 6 rings, he wasn't even close the level Jordan played on. 6 finals and still 0 finals mvp's, 6 finals and still no mvp... Michael Jordan was a 6-time MVP of the year playing with Scottie, himself was at 3rd place and he wasn't anywhere close to it that year since it was Olajuwon's that year.

This isn't even funny, you are comparing a sidekick to a guy that led his team to 2 finals.

Sure, Pippen at times was a freak when he was with Jordan but he wasn't a player that could carry the team, he just wasn't.

Drexler was a better

[millwad]

Uhh.... Pippen averaged 21.7 ppg on 49 % shooting in his two yrs as the first option. He averaged 19 ppg on 50% shooting from 91-93. If he really relied on MJ that bad for open looks and scoring, wouldn't his numbers go down? Stop with the BS, Pip was a smart player on offense and had a good shot selection. His jumper was a bit in-consistent, but he was well polished offensively other then that.

I was talking about him getting more open looks in the finals vs Clyde because he wasn't the first option of the team and you gotta believe there's some difference between the defense you receive as the first option in the finals compared to being the second option.

And the % of the regular season as the first option can't be compared to the % a first option player delivers in the finals. It's a pretty big difference between the quality of the D...

[OldSchoolBBall]

How is it fair to look at Pippen's numbers vs. Drexler's in the '92 Finals when A) they were hardly ever matched up, and B) Drexler was seeing first option defensive attention and Pippen wasn't?