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Tuesday, October 31, 2000
Pippen says the grind is adding up
Associated Press
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PORTLAND, Ore. -- Scottie Pippen says he wants to play at least two more seasons, but injuries and a preseason that drags on
and on have caused him to ponder life after the NBA.
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Asked Wednesday how much he thinks about retirement, the
Portland Trail Blazers forward smiled and said: "All the
time."
Pippen, about to begin his 14th season, has played sparingly
during the exhibition season because of an injured right thumb.
Also, two fingers on his left hand are chronically sore, and have
been taped since last season.
"It crosses my mind here and there, especially when you get a
nagging injury," Pippen said of calling it quits. "It brings you
down a little bit. I look forward to a long, healthy season, but
that hasn't been working in my favor so far.
"I would like to play at least a couple more years, but I look
at it year by year. We'll just see how I'm feeling."
Pippen, who turned 35 last month, has three years left on a contract that will pay him about $16.4 million this season.
Pippen mentioned retirement last season, when he led the Blazers
to the Western Conference finals. But after Portland's season ended
with a Game 7 defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers, in which the
Blazers blew a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, Pippen seemed
eager to make another title run.
He apparently jammed his thumb in a preseason game at the Los
Angeles Clippers on Oct. 17. Pippen, who sat out the first two
games, is averaging just 4.8 points and is shooting just 31 percent
in four games.
Pippen talked more seriously about retirement when the Blazers
played the Houston Rockets last week in Little Rock, Ark., two
hours from the small town where he was born. Pippen bought 150
tickets for friends and family, and many of his 11 siblings and
their families attended the game. The Blazers lost, and Pippen
scored eight points.
"I'm winding down, I think," Pippen told the Houston
Chronicle. "I'll make that decision a little later. But I'm
starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It depends what
kind of season we have, whether it's a good season, a great season
or a bad season. It's a hard decision."
The Blazers seem to be the team most capable of stopping the Lakers from repeating as champions. The teams open the season against each other at the Rose Garden next Tuesday night.
Portland, however, is struggling with injuries aside from
Pippen's. Center Arvydas Sabonis is out indefinitely after having
surgery on his left knee, and backup point guard Greg Anthony is
recovering from surgery to remove bone spurs in his ankles. Throw
in the adjustment period for new acquisitions Shawn Kemp and Dale
Davis, and the Blazers appear to be a step behind the Lakers
already.
Pippen views preseason games with general disinterest, but he
knows the last two -- against Denver at home Thursday night and at
Sacramento on Friday night -- will be his last chances to get ready
for the Lakers.
"Hopefully, my hand will heal a little bit, so I can feel a little more confidence and a little more strong out on the court," he said.
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