Scottie Pippen var að halda því fram að Kobe Bryant hafi verið að þykjast vera meiddur í fyrsta leik liðanna til að líta að vera einhver hetja eða eitthvað svoleiðis. Ég held að Pippen ætti bara að einbeita sér að sínum leik og sínu liði, eða bara golfi því að það er það sem hann verður að spila eftir eina viku eða svo.


“He's got bruised ribs? Which side? Aww, he's trying to be like Mike,” Pippen said, referring to former teammate Michael Jordan's effort in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals against Utah, when he scored 38 points for the Chicago Bulls despite battling food poisoning.

“He wanted to come out and have a heroic performance after saying he had bruised ribs,” Pippen said. “It didn't look like he had bruised ribs. He didn't find a shot he didn't like. He wasn't hurt that bad.”

Bryant, who has often expressed deep respect for Pippen, admitted he was disappointed by the remarks, but said he realized his opponent was probably just trying to get into his head.

“I've respected Scottie so much, I've looked up to him when I was honing my basketball skills,” Bryant said. “Scottie has six rings, he's a champion. It's a little disappointing, but I've got a job to do.”

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he believed anything between the two, at least as far as Pippen is concerned, dates to when Pippen played for Houston two years ago and the Lakers beat the Rockets in a first-round series.

Bryant generally got the better of his more experienced opponent at that time.

“I enjoy playing against Scottie so much,” Bryant said. “Back then, I looked at it as a challenge and an opportunity to prove myself against one of the best players of all time.”<br><br>jogi - smarter than the average bea