Scottie Pippen Did NOT Save Michael Jordan from the First Round

There is no doubt that Scottie Pippen was an amazing Player; a phenomenal Two-Way Wing, and Great playmaker. Jordan needed Pippen in order to win his 6 Championships, that much is true. No All Time Great can win championships by himself. However, the Narrative that Pippen somehow “saved” Michael Jordan from his 1-9 record in the playoffs is ridiculous.

Scottie Pippen was drafted in 1987 by the SuperSonics, and acquired by the Bulls. In his Rookie season, he put up 7.9 PPG, 2.1 APG and 3.8 RPG, while coming off the bench. Prior to his arrival, the Chicago Bulls had been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for three straight seasons. In two of those years (86’ and 87’) the Bulls faced off against the Bird led Boston Celtics, who were one of the greatest teams ever assembled. Jordan had zero help on his team for those seasons when he went up against Bird. Expecting him to beat that team on his own would be like expecting LeBron James to have beat the 18’ Warriors on his own. It’s virtually impossible.....

For the 1988 Playoffs, in Pippen’s rookie season, the Bulls would face off against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

 Jordan’s Bulls would win this series in 5 games. In the second playoff game Jordan ever won, which was game 1 of this series, he went for 50 Points. Let’s take a look at what Pippen did in this game: 

So Jordan won his second playoff game and become 2-9 in the playoffs with essentially zero production from Scottie Pippen..... but let the media, or Jordan haters tell it, and Pippen saved Jordan’s playoff legacy. Doesn’t make much sense. Let’s now take a look at the entire series and compare: 

So MJ averaged 45, 5 and 4.8 to Pippen’s 10, 5 and 2, but somehow He saved MJ? It doesn’t make sense because it’s not supposed to. Pippen didn’t develop into an elite player until around 1990. That’s when he became a great side kick to MJ. But when Jordan won his first playoff series, it had nothing to do with Scottie Pippen. He wasn’t anything special yet. It was because Jordan did what needed to be done to secure the victory.