Elie Seckbach, the Embedded NBA Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
It's a place that kicks collectors call heaven. The sneaker boutique where you can find almost anything basketball-related, the House of Hoops, used to only have one store, in Harlem, N.Y. But this week there was a one-of-a-kind grand opening party in Los Angeles, where hoop fans were treated to an Ice Cube concert, Chris Tucker doing stand-up (check out the "Brady Bunch" joke at 2:12), and a panel discussion with Scottie Pippen, John Salley and Ron Harper.
Our cameras were there when this event went down. Watch the full, exclusive video report after the jump.
Here's original footage from TBS Sports covering the 1987 draft. Just how long ago was 1987? Well, I was about to enter the third grade, the NBA had only 23 teams, David Stern still had more pepper than salt in his hair and the draft lasted seven rounds.
At 9:25 minutes, the video is long, but once you get past the ridiculously cheesy intro, it's worth it, from the unintentional humor of Patrick Ewing's blatant goal-tending "highlight" (1:05) to the shots of Reggie and sister Cheryl shooting hoops in his backyard (6:50).
Kudos to YouTube user 1987Hawkeyes, who also posted the entire first round. Seriously, it's like cracking open a time capsule, going back to a time when drafting Dennis Hopson (3rd overall) over Scottie Pippen (5th) and Reggie Miller (11th) actually made sense.
Derek Fisher plays for the Lakers now, but spent last year as a member of a Utah Jazz team that went to the Western Conference finals. Because of this, Fisher has an entire season of knowledge gained on the intricacies of Utah's offensive and defensive schemes. And Phil Jackson isn't at all hesitant to try to use that knowledge to the Lakers' advantage.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson acknowledged that beyond scouting reports and hours of watching tape, any information provided by Fisher on Jazz tendencies is a bonus.
"There's a person that knows a lot more than we can impart to the players," Jackson said. "We can tell them what Utah is going to do, but then there's the reaction time and all the things that go into that make it easier for him (Fisher). He can tell his teammates, also."
There's no doubt that having a player who played for a team you're now facing in a seven game series can be an advantage, but I think it's more likely to help that particular player than it is his new team. The Lakers' coaching staff has hours and hours of video on the Jazz, and since Jerry Sloan has been coaching the team for (seemingly) the last 75 years or so, there aren't really any secrets left that L.A. isn't aware of.
But it's clear that Fisher's experience with the Jazz has helped him out personally. In Game 1, Fisher had a whopping six steals, which was most likely a result of him knowing exactly where Utah was trying to go with their passes. When Scottie Pippen played for Portland against Phil Jackson's Lakers earlier this decade, he had similar success at the defensive end due to his knowledge of the Triangle Offense. So yeah, an individual player may have some advantages as far as reaction time to what his former team is doing, but the team isn't likely to benefit much from this so-called "inside information."
Apparently soon after playing a game in Finland, Scottie Pippen decided to swing through Russia. I have no clue what the circumstances are, but I'm guessing this isn't just a goodwill trip and that a few rubles exchanged hands. It's a long interview (though interesting, if you were a Pippen fan), but if you skip to the end there's a nice pay-off in the last minute when Pippen admits to speaking to John Paxson about coaching the Bulls next year and that he expects to have a face-to-face meeting soon.
Scottie Pippen's most lately been in the news for chasing the Bulls coaching job -- after harshly criticizing most of the current players. Don't forget, though, that he's also been moonlighting as a basketball player over in Finland. He may not be have what it takes to return to an NBA roster, but he doesn't look so bad here, does he?
Correction: My bad, apparently this is in Sweden, where Pippen went to play a one-game stint.
The Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith had an odd column this morning. He tells us Scottie Pippen is upset about some quotes attributed to him in a companion piece to last week's Smith attempt to jump-start Pippen's coaching career. If you'll remember, the piece had some hilarious and slightly nasty comments from Pippen regarding various Bulls. Pippen says now those comments were taken out of context, that he was speaking in general terms and Smith made the leap in assigning the sentiment to current Bulls. Smith, for whatever reason, gives Pippen a free pass in today's column.
As a reminder, he are a few choice quotes Smith printed last week. You tell me if they could have been misconstrued.
[On Tyrus Thomas] He's athletic, but he doesn't know how to play the game. He's great from the neck down. ...
[On Ben Gordon] He's out there shooting for a contract. ...
[On Kirk Hinrich] Let him run the offense. But you can't have midgets running your backcourt.
Either Smith printed made-up quotes, or Pippen's talking about specific Bulls and not the broad terms Pippen now claims. Since Smith doesn't admit to plagiarism in today's column, I assume we can assume Pippen's covering his ass. (Why? The players didn't seem to mind.)
It looks like Scottie Pippen's European Tour is a success, especially at the box office. Check out this clip of Pippen being introduced, as the fans in the packed arena rise to their feet to welcome the six-time NBA champion.
The playing of "Sirius" -- the old Chicago Bulls intro music -- was a nice touch, and I'm sure it got Pippen properly pumped up for the game. He had nine points and nine rebounds in his team's 98-85 victory.
"I don't really care what Scottie has to say," Ben Gordon said.
"Everybody's entitled to their own opinion, but it doesn't have anything to do with anything," Gordon said. "When I see him, I say hi out of respect. He's a top-50 player. That's the extent [of our relationship], really."
Don't you hate it when players take the high road? Hinrich's reaction was even more muted:
"I always liked Pip, and we got along great," Hinrich said. "I don't think he's ever been afraid to speak his mind, even when he was here. I never felt like it was anything too crazy."
In fact, Hinrich even went so far as to suggest Pippen would make for a good assistant coach, though I like said above, there's no chance in hell of that happening now. While I was hoping for the Bulls to come back with more fireworks, perhaps they see Pippen for what he is: an ex-jock desperately seeking to return to the NBA, in some capacity or another. Last year he tried and failed to drum up interest about a comeback and now he's supposedly seeking a coaching job, albeit in an odd way he knows can't possibly work. Part of me wonders if this interview was an audition of sorts, his way of reminding TV networks that he has strong opinions and is available for work.
If this Jim Boylan thing doesn't work out (here's to hoping!), Chicago figures to be the most attractive opening in the NBA this summer. You'd figure John Paxson would have his pick of the top candidates traveled and fresh. But Scottie Pippen tells the Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith he stands above all the other candidates in rather immodest terms.
"What's my disadvantage? No NBA coaching experience? Scott Skiles' record with the Bulls wasn't that great. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to do what you've done your whole life. I've played basketball, run teams and won. ... What's the key to this good ol' boy system they have? You've got to go to Europe and coach two years? Sit next to someone for a year? ... Guys like Skiles have never been there. Can he give a motivation speech like someone who's been in those games? I've played for championships.
My first reaction was to laugh at Pippen's absurdly cocksure attitude. My second reaction was email Pippen the coaching records of Bill Russell, Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas. But you know what? He's right. No, not that he's the most qualified candidate, or that teams should always look first to former players with no experience in a double-breasted suit for positions of leadership in the franchise. (They probably shouldn't.)
But Pippen's right in that he deserves as close a look as anyone else.
It's a place that kicks collectors call heaven. The sneaker boutique where you can find almost anything basketball-related, the House of Hoops, used to only have one store, in Harlem, N.Y. But this week there was a one-of-a-kind grand opening party in Los Angeles, where hoop fans were treated to an Ice Cube concert, Chris Tucker doing stand-up (check out the "Brady Bunch" joke at 2:12), and a panel discussion with Scottie Pippen, John Salley and Ron Harper.
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