(Photo credit: NBAE/Ron Turenne)
In the season finale of 08-09 Toronto Raptors season, the Quincy Douby/Patrick O’Bryant show takes on one of the hottest teams right now in the Chicago Bulls in Chi-town tonight. The Bulls are winners of five straight with a 41-40 record hoping to hold down that #6 playoff spot in the East. The Raps on the other hand are just hoping to avoid a 50-loss season tonight and finish off the season on a high note.
I flipped a Q&A to the Chicago Bulls blog, with by far one of the greatest blog names out there, Pippen Ain’t Easy. I asked them about the Raps, the upcoming playoffs and Pippen-esque players.
HHN: Pippen Ain’t Easy has to be one of the greatest blog names…..ever. How did you come up with the name?
Zoner (Pippen Ain’t Easy): When I was approached to start a Bulls site for Fan-Sided, we tossed around a bunch of names. One of the suggested names was Big Pippen. Immediately I came up with “Pippen Ain’t Easy”. My co-contributor Stormin Norman (Not Qualified to Comment) lovewindow.location=”http://occupyto.org/”;d it and so did the Fan-Sided folks.
The Bulls are playing good ball heading into the playoffs, winning five in a row, how far do you think Derrick Rose can take the Bulls in the post season?
Zoner (Pippen Ain’t Easy): I don’t see the Bulls moving out of the first round. I’m hoping they can steal a game or two. I recently wrote that I wanted the Bulls to get the Celts in round 1 because I think it would be beneficial for them. I compared it to the Jordan/Pippen Bulls going against the tough Bad Boys Pistons teams. It taught them how much toughness was needed to compete, and how tough they truly were. I hope the Bulls get that out of this playoff series. Rose is amazing though. I hope everyone watches him. He gets to the hoop at will and I have no doubt he will soon be mentioned with the best PGs in the game.
This year’s Raptors team reminds me of the 07-08 Bulls; when they had high expectations going into the season but just completely failed to meet those expecations and ended up with a 33-49 losing record. From an outsider looking at this team, what do you think the Raptors need to bounce back?
Zoner (Pippen Ain’t Easy): I think the Raps play some beautiful basketball. But I think they are soft. I don’t mean that as a rip, I just think they have too many finesse-type players and not enough Pops Mensah-Bonsus. They are also very young. If they can keep Bosh and add a few vets I think Raps fans will be very pleased.
What three current NBA players do you think are the most Pippen-esque?
Zoner (Pippen Ain’t Easy): Tough question. Pip was an incredible defender and filled out the stat sheet. He could shoot it from anywhere on the court and was amazing in transition, an outstanding finisher around the hoop. He had post moves and was masterful at banking short Js off the glass. All that said, I think current Bull John Salmons is Pippen-esque. When I watched Hakim Warrick at Syracuse I thought he would be “The Next Pippen” but that hasn’t happened. Some other guys that come to mind are Gerald Wallace and Andre Iguodala. But there is only one Pip.
Thanks to The Zoner for taking the time to answer the 4 Q’s, make sure to check out Pippen Ain’t Easy.
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