Scottie Pippen: Current Chicago Bulls Reminiscent of Late 1980s Teams

Scottie Pippen sees a lot of similarities between the Derrick Rose-led Bulls and the teams he played on in Chicago (during the 80s) before they started collecting titles. From the team website: “I have to say that this year’s Bulls remind me a lot of our teams in the late 1980’s. When I look back at my first few seasons in the NBA, we didn’t dominate as a team. There were a lot of nights where we took a beating and got whacked across the head. But we got better along the way and we started to taste the success. With that came the pressure and expectations to be successful. That’s what this team is going through right now. I can guarantee you that the series against Miami still lingers in the back of the players’ minds. Granted, they are focused on the task at hand this season, but it’s something that helps the Bulls play with an edge. Again, it’s like our teams in the late 1980’s, when we were a team on the rise and the Detroit Pistons were the defending champions. Even in the years we lost, we felt like we were the better team. The rest of the world looked at what the Pistons had done and how they worked their way to the top, and we understood that. But we didn’t accept it. The Bulls have to adopt that mentality and endure some of the same growing pains that we did. Granted, the situation was different in that the Pistons had won back-to-back titles and the Heat has only had its core together for a season and a half now, still without a championship. But it’s clear that if you want to get to the Finals this season, you’ll have to get past Miami.”