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Pippen Comes Back to Lead

 

Bill Cartwright is especially pleased to have Scottie Pippen back in Chicago: "I think that he’s going to be just outstanding for the guys,” he said.

Posted September 29, 2003

 

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The Bulls welcome back a familiar face with the return of Scottie Pippen (6-8, 228 – Central Arkansas ’87). Pippen, who recently turned 38, returns to the Bulls after signing as a free agent on July 20.

 

“It’s interesting because when you bring a veteran in to a team, you always assume that they will want to settle and play less minutes,” said Pippen’s former teammate and new coach, Bill Cartwright. “But with a guy like Pip, you know he’s going to want his minutes. There will be points throughout this season where we’ll allow him to play those minutes, but obviously we’ll want to monitor him and keep him in good shape to make sure he doesn’t break down. I think that with the personnel we have, we’ll be able to do that.”

 

Pippen returns to Chicago after a playing the last five seasons in Houston and Portland. In 2002.03, he helped lead Portland to the playoffs with regular-season averages of 10.8 ppg, 4.5 apg, 4.3 rpg and 1.64 spg. In the process, he extended his postseason appearance streak to 16 seasons in a row. He missed 18 games due to a sore left knee and eventually had surgery on the knee. Portland was 38-20 in the games in which he started.

 

“Pip brings a defensive presence that is probably the best one I’ve ever seen, especially on a championship team,” Cartwright stated. “This guy is phenomenal in how he affects the other team on the defensive end. Now that he’s later on in his career, he really understands the value of team work, team play, and distributing the ball. His assets to this team as far as being on the court are invaluable. He’s a pro. We know he’ll be on time and he’ll talk to the other guys about work ethic. I think that he’s going to be just outstanding for the guys.”

 

Cartwright went on to say that while he feels Pippen’s impact will be felt by all of his teammates, he hopes that he will make an extra effort to show players such as Eddie Robinson and Trenton Hassell “what it means to be a pro in this league.”

 

Chicago also returns a pair of forwards from last year’s squad: Donyell Marshall (6-9, 230 – Connecticut ’94) and Eddie Robinson (6-9, 210 – Central Oklahoma ’99).

 

Marshall, a nine-year veteran, begins his second year with the Bulls. Last season, he appeared in 78 games, making 53 starts, while averaging 13.4 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.21 spg and 1.09 bpg. His 9.0 rpg led the team and tied him for 10th in the NBA. He also logged a team-high 30 double-doubles (13th in the NBA). He posted two career highs on the year and equaled another: shooting .379 from three-point range, grabbing 699 rebounds and swiping 95 steals (matches career best).

 

 

Marshall

 

Robinson

“The advantage of Donyell is that he’s interchangeable,” Cartwright explained of his ability to play at either the small forward or power forward positions. “We want to put him in the best position so that he can take advantage of his skills. He’s probably our best rebounder right now so he’ll be out there on the court.”

 

The signing of Marshall in August of 2002 paid off in a big way last season and Cartwright expects more of the same this year.

 

“He brings a lot of stability. Donyell was our leader in steals last year along with being our leading rebounder. He brings a lot to our team as far as headiness. He’s a good passer and he’ll probably be our first sub off the bench. He was probably our most consistent player last year. We are going to look to Donyell this year to step up and be more of a leader verbally and he’ll have an opportunity to do that.”

 

Robinson appeared in 64 games last season, making a career-high 18 starts. He averaged 5.7 ppg and a career-high 3.1 rpg, with 1.0 apg. He also shot a career-high .810 from the free throw line.

 

“I’ve always viewed Eddie Robinson as a young guy who is still learning how to play in this league,” Cartwright said. “I think that since he’s been here, he’s gotten better as far as his aggressive posture. Last year we were able to stick him on some good players and he’s capable of doing a good job defending a guy like Allen Iverson. He’s able to take on a challenge like Tracy McGrady and those kinds of players and he’d never done that before in his career.”

 

Given Robinson’s improvement and off-the-charts athleticism, it’s possible that having a mentor like Scottie Pippen is just what the doctor ordered to help him get to the next level.

 

“Eddie is going to benefit from Scottie in talking about basketball, focusing and all those sorts of things,” Cartwright predicted. “We feel like he has made progress and he’s going to be our best athlete this year. There’s no question that he’s a phenomenal athlete; now we just want to put him in a position so he can take advantage of all that athleticism and his ability to score.”

 

Pippen’s return to Chicago reunites him with former championship teammates Bill Cartwright, John Paxson and B.J. Armstrong. Wouldn’t it be fitting if he plays a key role in leading the Bulls back to the playoffs? As Pippen said when he first signed with the Bulls, it’s a streak he doesn’t plan on ending.

 

- Adam Fluck, Bulls.com