Scottie Pippen probably never had to call his teammates out like this during the Chicago Bulls' dynasty days.
Pippen chastised his younger teammates for their lack of effort Thursday, saying it's time the Baby Bulls start taking some pride in themselves, their games and the team they represent. Much has been invested in them and, so far, they're not showing much in return.
"That's where it all comes down to: Have you gotten any better since you were drafted here? Are you showing that you're going to make this franchise better in the near future? Have you made any steps?" Pippen said. "And I don't see a lot of steps in a lot of players that have been in this game three-plus years."
PHOTO: AFP
After five miserable seasons, this was supposed to be the year the Bulls turned the corner. Prep-to-pro prospects Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler were going to build on their strong finishes last season and be dominant players, and all of Jamal Crawford's considerable talents were going to be on display. There was even talk of the playoffs.
Yet here the Bulls are, losers still. At 12-30, they are three wins behind last year's pace. They have the second-worst record in the NBA and have lost five straight, the last two coming against fellow sad sacks Washington and Atlanta.
They've switched coaches, with Scott Skiles replacing Bill Cartwright. They've traded players, shipping Jalen Rose and Donyell Marshall to Toronto for Antonio Davis and Jerome Williams. But the losses keep piling up and there's a real fear it's becoming part of the team's culture, just as winning was when Michael Jordan was around.
"I worry about it every day," said general manager John Paxson, who spoke to the team after practice Thursday. "There's not an easy answer for that. You've got to find a way to win. But a lot of it goes to what we were just talking about: being a competitive person. At some point, you have to feel a little bit unhappy or maybe even embarrassed about the way you're playing.
"It's like I said before, if you're going to go down, go down scratching, clawing, giving somebody a shot," Paxson added. "That's just an instinct I think has to be there."
So far it's not, and Curry is taking most of the heat. He's been compared to Shaquille O'Neal, but he had five rebounds in the last two games combined and he's not even the team's leading rebounder.
Curry's conditioning also has been criticized, with Skiles making him do extra work after practice and before games.
"Everybody's frustrated with the way we're playing. The players, we're frustrated," Pippen said. "No one wants to watch a losing team, no one wants to watch a team that doesn't care, doesn't give any effort, doesn't play hard. We have to find guys that want to do this."
Paxson brought Pippen back in part so he could mentor the youngsters, show them what it takes to be a champion. Pippen has freely shared his knowledge and experience, working with Chandler on the side during practice and shouting instructions from the bench like a coach when he was on the injured list.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two