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Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen has been taking pictures left and proper at Michael Jordan ever since ESPN’s The Last Dance docuseries got here out. His new memoir, Unguarded, is stuffed with Jordan slander.
Nonetheless, Pippen additionally destroys Brooklyn Nets taking pictures guard James Harden in his e-book. The six-time champion holds nothing again in his memoir and isn’t afraid to name out present gamers.
Scottie Pippen on James Harden: ‘Cease dribbling!’
Harden tends to dribble the life out of the ball when he’s on offense, and Pippen hates watching it. There are a number of instances the Beard will dribble for all 24 seconds of the shot clock. He did it rather a lot when he performed for the Houston Rockets, and Pippen couldn’t stand it.
“Typically, once I watched Harden play for the Houston Rockets, bouncing the ball up and down, I felt as if my life have been passing me by,” Pippen wrote. “I wished to shout on the TV, ‘For God’s sake, James, cease dribbling!’”
Harden is without doubt one of the biggest scorers in NBA historical past. He’s a three-time scoring champion and a one-time MVP. Nonetheless, he’s by no means gained a championship, and Pippen isn’t the one legend who has criticized the way in which he performs. Actually, when Harden was on the Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant stated the way in which the lefty performed wouldn’t end in a title.
Kobe Bryant: Rockets can’t win championship with James Harden dominating the ball
Harden averaged 36.1 factors in 2018-19. Nonetheless, the Rockets misplaced to the Golden State Warriors within the second spherical of the playoffs. Top-of-the-line gamers of all time, Bryant informed Rachel Nichols of ESPN in February 2019 that Houston wouldn’t win a title with Harden dominating the ball.
“I don’t suppose that model is ever going to win championships,” Bryant stated. “Not with this model of play. It gained’t win with one participant dominating the ball.”
To this point, Pippen and Bryant have been right of their evaluation of Harden. If one participant dribbles an excessive amount of and doesn’t transfer with out the ball, he’s simpler to defend, particularly within the playoffs.
Harden had a utilization share of 40.47 in 2018-19, the second-highest in a single season. Sarcastically, Bryant is third on the record. He had a utilization share of 38.74 in 2005-06. As a result of he performed with Jordan, Pippen by no means had a excessive utilization share. His highest was 27.1 in 1993-94, the season Jordan played baseball.
It stays to be seen if Harden will win a title as Pippen and Bryant did. The nine-time All-Star hasn’t been environment friendly on offense by the Nets’ first 12 video games of the 2021-22 season. He’s taking pictures solely 40.9% from the sphere and appears a step slower.
Pippen, who by no means misplaced within the Finals with the Bulls, believes Harden must get in higher form for the Nets to win all of it this season.
Scottie Pippen: Nets can win all of it if the Beard will get in form
Pippen informed Frank Isola on Sirus XM Radio that the Nets can win a championship with out Kyrie Irving if Harden will get into form. The Corridor of Famer is impressed by how dominant Kevin Durant has been.
“Not if James Harden will get in form,” Pippen said when requested if the Nets want Irving. “I’m not going to say that they’ll win with out him. He undoubtedly is a man that may assist them. However Kevin Durant proper now’s an unstoppable participant, and we began to see this final 12 months within the playoffs. If he continues on this sort of position and begins to make the most of his staff slightly bit higher, I believe they’ll presumably win with out him.”
It looks as if Harden is all the time out of form however nonetheless finds a technique to rating 30 factors. That hasn’t been the case to this point in 2021-22 because the Nets guard has zero 30-point video games.
With that stated, will probably be attention-grabbing to see if Harden will get into higher basketball form because the season strikes alongside and proves Pippen and Bryant improper.
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