Saw this video clip on Pippen Ain’t Easy, which is a short documentary telling the story of the four original Beatles.

The video was made by Scott Gairdner, who does sketch comedy in Los Angeles.

The description of the video says, “1000 years in the future, the legacy of John, Paul, Greg, and Scottie Pippen remains.”

Scottie Pippen appeared on NBC 5, and for whatever reason, was doing the weather. During the weather cast, Pippen mentions that Toni Kukoc would like some warm weather in order to go golfing.

Pippen clearly has no future as a weatherman.

The Chicago Bulls introduced James Johnson and Taj Gibson in a press conference today. Here is a rough recap of what was said during the press conference today.

Gar Forman: We are very excited about how things turned out.  Think with both players there is great versatility, both for the roster, but also as far as their games are concerned.  James can play inside and outside.  He can play at the 3 and the 4.  Taj is a skill player, who brings length and activity to the floor that will really help us.

James Johnson: Chicago is a great city, going to be happy to play here.  They’re a great young team.  Going to be fun running with Derrick and the rest of the guys.

Taj Gibson: I feel the same way.  I’m blessed to be here, a great city, a great team.  Looking forward to filling any need the team has, looking forward to the season.

Reporter: Do you liken yourself to anyone in particular or the kind of style of play?

James Johnson: I watch everyone.  I have a couple guys, inside and out.  Try to take everyone’s game who makes great moves, and make them in my game.

(more…)

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 113 to 104 in a battle for the Eighth playoff seed. The Bulls entered the game 2.5 games behind the Bucks for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference and left the Bradley Center trailing just 1.5 games.

The Bulls only had four players on their bench tonight: Lindsey Hunter, Aaron Gray, Thabo Sefolosha, and Kirk Hinrich. The small bench was a result of the Bulls trading Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons, and Michael Ruffin earlier in the day.

Kirk Hinrich played great in what might be his last game as a Chicago Bull. Kirk Hinrich had 31 points on 8-14 shooting, also going 5-8 from three point range. Hinrich really was the guy leading the Bulls to victory tonight, having a nice fourth quarter scoring the basketball. Hinrich also had 4 steals in the game.

The referees swallowed their whistles a lot tonight. A no call when Hinrich was hit by Charlie Villanueva when driving to the basket caused Hinrich to become heated. Hinrich used his anger positively, going on a scoring barrage just after this.

If Kirk Hinrich leaves the Bulls tomorrow, he was able to sneak in one last milestone. On his first three of the night, Kirk Hinrich passed up Scottie Pippen on the Bulls all time career three point list. Kirk Hinrich, who is at 669 three pointers as a Bull is now all alone at second, only behind Ben Gordon, who has 716 three pointers as a Bull.

Hinrich’s backcourt mates, Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon added in 18 points each. Rose had 9 assists to go along with his 18 points. Rose was really sloppy with the ball tonight, committing 7 turnovers.

Ben Gordon had his 18 points on just 6-15, making his offensive effort just mediocre efficiency wise. He had some nice moves to set up his shots, he just wasn’t hitting a lot of them tonight.

Luol Deng added in 21 points on 9-17 shooting. Deng started off the game strong, scoring 16 points in the first half, but really cooled off in the second half. The problem with Deng is a chucker. Like Nocioni, who was just traded, Deng puts a shot up nearly every time he touches the ball. Deng isn’t an offensive artisan like Ben Gordon, who works hard to get good looks to score the basketball. Deng instead just takes whatever shots he can get. When they’re going in, all is good. When they’re not, Deng looks like a scrub. This lack of good shot selection is the reason for Deng’s low true shooting percentage this season.

Richard Jefferson scored 32 points in just 28 minutes tonight. Deng and Sefolosha really weren’t doing that great of a job guarding Jefferson. The Bulls were probably at their best defensively at the three spot when they went to the three guard line up and Hinrich guarded Jefferson.

Charlie Villanueva scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Villanueva made a lot of body contact with Bulls players tonight, but the referees just let a lot of that slide. Some would complain about the officiating, but that is good physical basketball.

The Bulls front court was solid tonight. Joakim Noah had 4 points 9 rebounds and 1 block. Tyrus Thomas had 8 points 4 rebounds 2 blocks and 2 steals. Nothing special tonight, but they played good interior defense.

Ramon Sessions added in 12 points for the Bucks.

Both Vinny Del Negro and Scott Skiles were hit with technicals tonight.

This is the Bulls final game before the trade deadline, which is tomorrow at 2 PM CT.

With this win, the Chicago Bulls improve to 24-30 on the season.

Tonight, the Bulls gave tribute to the great Johnny Red Kerr, thanking him for all that he has done for the organization. The Bulls showed their gratitude for Kerr by giving him a game to remember by beating the Pistons 107 to 102 at the United Center.

It looked like it was going to be another one of those nights where the Bulls just didn’t bring it, as they fell down by 15 in the second half. But the Bulls really turned it on in the fourth quarter to make it a close game.

The early credit has to go to Tyrus Thomas, who was big in helping the Bulls to start chipping away the lead. Him and Noah were also making the big defensive stops down the stretch. Then Derrick Rose stepped up by making some baskets, including a midrange jumpshot to bring the Bulls within one, with a score of 102 to 101.

The Pistons then had a chance to build up their lead, but Rasheed Wallace got greedy, taking a stupid, fallaway three in the corner after bobbling a pass. The Bulls called a rebound and called a timeout.

So were the Bulls going to shake things up at the end this time around? Of course not. This game looked like it was going to end just like many other close games before it this season. Derrick Rose went to the basket and got blocked. We’ve all seen this scene many times before. But something different happened this time. The ball bounced back to Rose and he caught a wide open Ben Gordon in the corner. Gordon rose up for three, causing Stuckey, who went in to go for the rebound, to rush out to Gordon, fouling Gordon, who sunk the game winner with that three. Gordon then sank the free throw to give the Bulls a solid three point lead. This is Gordon’s second four point play in a crucial moment this season, previously doing it against the Clippers to tie the game and bring it into overtime.

BrooklynBulls of the RealGM forums sums up Gordon’s clutch exploits the best, saying, “Ben Gordon is a bundle of muscle and clutch. That’s all he’s made of. Drink BG7 energy drink, you’ll grow a pair of balls on your balls.”

Ben Gordon came out aggressive tonight. You could tell from the get go that he wanted to be the star of this game. He wanted to have a big performance on Johnny Red Kerr Tribute night in front of many important basketball people. Gordon had an up and down game, scoring 24 points on 8-18 shooting with 5 turnovers. A lot of turnovers that Gordon had were on drives to the basket where Gordon was expecting to get a foul, but the refs didn’t call the fouls. While Gordon wasn’t great throughout the entirety of the game, this was his best game of the season, because he made the big shots when it mattered.

Derrick Rose had a really nice game as well, scoring 23 points and passing for 4 assists. He had some trouble guarding Stuckey in the first quarter, leading to some early foul trouble, but he picked up his defense as the game went on. Rose left the game left with seconds left after running into McDyess’ shoulder on what looked like a moving screen. Rose left the game sobbing.

And this win wouldn’t have been possible without the Bulls front court duo, which is starting to play very well. Tyrus Thomas had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Joakim Noah added in 12 points and 16 rebounds. They are both starting to make those easy baskets around the basket and they both are playing good defense and making solid hustle plays.

If Steve Kerr was planning on trading Amare Stoudemire to the Bulls, he probably wishes he had done so before this game, because Noah and Thomas both upped their value a little bit more. While I think Thomas and Noah are playing at a good level, I still would include both of them in a trade for Stoudemire if that is what’s needed to get a trade done. Conglomerations of superstars generally win in the NBA, and the Bulls would have a good superstar duo in Derrick Rose and Amare Stoudemire, as well as the super role player, Ben Gordon, to build around. Noah and Thomas’ play tonight should help solidify a package that includes both Thomas and Noah as the best package out there.

After a hot start to the game, the Bulls slowed down Rodney Stuckey, limiting him to 16 points on 6-16 shooting. His backcourt counterpart, Rip Hamilton had a great game, scoring 30 points on 11-21 shooting.

Rasheed Wallace gave the Bulls fits in the third quarter, but the Bulls prevented Wallace from making big plays down the stretch. Wallace finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Andres Nocioni had an efficient 14 points tonight on 5-6 shooting. Kirk Hinrich added in 5 points and 5 assists.

Tayshaun Prince had 16 points for the Pistons.

Luol Deng was pathetic tonight, scoring 7 points on 1-7 shooting. He played some selfish ball, forcing up bad shots, instead of passing to his teammates, and he really didn’t move without the ball all that much.

At halftime, the Bulls held a tribute ceremony for Johnny Red Kerr that was emceed by Neil Funk. During the ceremony, the Bulls unveiled the statue they made in the likeness of Kerr. The speakers for the event included Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Jerry Colangelo, Dolph Schayes, and John Paxson. President Barack Obama sent a video message that was played as well.

Allen Iverson sat out the game with the flu.

With this win, the Bulls improve to 23-29 on the season.

While playing in a celebrity all-star game in Moscow, former Chicago Bull, Scottie Pippen, revealed that he has interest in coaching the Chicago Bulls.

He did make news in Moscow, though. I found a video clip of an interview he did a day or two before the game. The Russian journalist asked Pippen, who is 43 and stopped playing pro ball five years ago, whether basketball was in his future. “I do have some interest in getting back into the game and coaching the Chicago Bulls, to some degree,” he said.

It looks like it is almost over for Vinny Del Negro in Chicago, as lobbying for his current job has begun. Last year, coaching candidates at least had the respect to not talk about the coaching job until Jim Boylan was fired.

Scottie Pippen would make a lot of sense for the Bulls. He would be a celebrity head coach in Chicago, that would get the fans excited. Pippen has conversed with some of the current Bulls players, appeared in the Shooting Stars competition with Ben Gordon in 2007, and was a teammate of Kirk Hinrich’s in 2003. As the number two man on the dynasty team, the players would have to respect him.

The question though, would be whether Pippen can communicate his great basketball knowledge to his players and make the Bulls a good team again. However, with the Bulls latest experience with a no experienced coach, it would be wise for them to look at more experienced candidates, such as Avery Johnson and Jeff Van Gundy.

The Chicago Bulls sent out a press release announcing that they will be honoring the great Johnny Red Kerr on February 10th. Here is the release the Bulls sent out:

The Chicago Bulls announced on Jan. 15 that longtime team broadcaster Johnny “Red” Kerr will be honored for his career achievements and 35 years of service to the Bulls organization during a halftime ceremony at the Bulls’ game against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, February 10 at the United Center.

“Johnny Kerr is a Chicago Bulls icon,” said Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. “It is only fitting that we salute Johnny and thank him for the many contributions he has made to the Chicago Bulls organization over these past decades. We are pleased to have the opportunity along with 20,000 of our fans to tell Johnny how much we love and appreciate him.”

Kerr, a native of Chicago, has been a part of the Bulls organization in various capacities for 35 of the franchise’s 43 seasons, most notably as a team broadcaster for more than 30 years. He also served as the team’s first head coach in 1966 and earned NBA Coach of the Year honors for the 1966-67 season, when he directed the first-year Bulls to a playoff appearance. Kerr is the only head coach in NBA history to lead an expansion team to the playoffs during its inaugural season. Additionally, he was the franchise’s business manager for two seasons.

As part of the halftime salute, Bulls television play-by-play announcer Neil Funk will emcee the ceremony which will include a video tribute, speeches and appearances from notables such as Jerry Reinsdorf, Jerry Colangelo, Dolph Schayes, Al Bianchi, Jim Durham, Ron Guenther as well as David Stern who will appear via a taped message. The Bulls’ John Paxson and Bob Love will also be in attendance. Others expected to attend include former Bulls’ Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

“I very much appreciate the Bulls hosting a night in my honor,” Kerr said. “Other than my wife and my family, the Chicago Bulls have been the great love of my life. I’m looking forward to having the opportunity to thank everyone.”

Kerr starred as a prep at Tilden Tech, collegiately at the University of Illinois and played 12 seasons in the NBA for Syracuse, Philadelphia and Baltimore. The three-time NBA All-Star played in 905 games and averaged 13.8 ppg, 11.2 rpg and 2.2 apg in 30.7 mpg during an illustrious career that included an NBA Championship with the Syracuse Nationals during his rookie season. Most remarkable, however, is the fact that Kerr played in 844 consecutive games from 1954 to 1965, setting an NBA record that would stand until Randy Smith broke it in 1983. He is also one of the select NBA players who totaled more than 10,000 points and 10,000 rebounds during his career.

Other career achievements include coaching the Phoenix Suns and also holding several administrative positions in both the NBA and ABA. Kerr’s book “Bull Session” was released in 1989 and he holds the title of President of Kerr Financial Services.