Pippen Ain’t Easy Goes To Face the Wiz of Awes

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Well Pippen Peoples, we have covered plenty of topics leading into the start of the Chicago Bulls first round game with the Washington Wizards coming up Sunday. Pippen Ain’t Easy has provided a full breakdown of all of the position matchups all over the floor to the bench. Join the action! Join the fun! Log on to Pippen Ain’t Easy, the best choice for Bulls news, previews and reviews. We have gotten some insightful comments from the Pippen Peoples and we need your input. Keep it locked to Pippen Ain’t Easy for complete coverage of the NBA playoffs. I know that sometimes when we are in a learning environment that things get a little stale. We have to shake things up a bit. Well surprise Pippen Peoples! We are going on a field trip. We are going to a place far, far away. A place where we can find information about our opponent, the Washington Wizards. I had a chance to chew the fat with fellow FanSided Editor, Ben Mehic and talk a little playoff basketball and some trash. Read along and learn a little something from Ben Mehic from the Wiz of Awes.

Hello Ben! Thanks for the collaboration and conversation. As  you know our teams meet up on Sunday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference matchup. I wanted to ask a couple of questions.

Pippen Ain’t Easy:

1) The Washington Wizards have made the playoffs for the first time in the John Wall era. How did they accomplish this feat?

Ben Mehic- The Wiz of Awes:

They changed the culture around completely. For the first time in John Wall’s career, he was finally surrounded by competent basketball players. No longer does the team rely on guys like JaVale McGee, Andray Blatche and Nick Young, but rather established veterans like Nene, Marcin Gortat, Trevor Ariza and even locker room leaders like Martell Webster. Washington had to essentially start over and although it probably took longer than expected, I think we’re finally beginning to see results of the rebuild that started in 2010 once Ted Leonsis purchased the franchise.

Pippen Ain’t Easy:

2) Talk about the midseason personnel moves that brought in Andre Miller and Drew Gooden and the positive impact that they have on the team? Al Harrington has been amazing as well. Elaborate.

Ben Mehic- The Wiz of Awes:

It’s rare for teams that rely on their young players to have success if they’re not surrounded by veterans that have been through it all. Small additions like Al Harrington and Drew Gooden have certainly helped Washington grow in the locker room, while someone like Andre Miller has helped stabilize the Wizards’ second unit. Simply put, the veteran additions just know how to get it done. It’s been a long time since Washington has had a reliable bench, but that’s exactly what they’ve gotten with Andre Miller, Al Harrington and Drew Gooden.

Pippen Ain’t Easy:

3) Nene has made it back to the lineup after being out a while with an injury. Tell the Pippen Peoples what he brings to the table.

Ben Mehic- The Wiz of Awes:

With Nene out, guys like Marcin Gortat and Trevor Booker are forced to take on a bigger role, ultimately causing the Wizards to falter a bit on both sides of the floor. Now that Nene is back, Washington has gotten one of their main pieces back in the fold, allowing the rest of their players to take somewhat of a step back. Nene gives Washington another scoring option especially since he’s able to knock down the 15 foot jump shot, but his rotations defensively and ability to cover pick-and-rolls has helped Washington become a top ten defense. Needless to say, the Wizards are a much better team when Nene is in the line up. Unfortunately, he’s still on a minutes restriction.

Pippen Ain’t Easy:

4) The Wizards made the playoffs, but things started out kind of tough. How close was Head Coach Randy Wittman to being axed this season? Be honest now, how hot was the seat?

Ben Mehic- The Wiz of Awes:

I don’t think that Randy Wittman was in any real danger of losing his job after Washington lost 7 of their first 9 games right out of the gate. He’s on the last year of his contract, and given how bad the Eastern Conference was at the beginning of the season, I’m sure the front office had confidence in the team’s turnaround. Marcin Gortat had just been acquired, Nene was in and out of the lineup and quite honestly, it was too early to pull the plug on Wittman. The players had his back right from the start, letting the media know that he was not the blame, and that relieved some pressure off him.

Pippen Ain’t Easy:

5) I know this is  a loaded question but, who wins the series?

Ben Mehic-The Wiz of Awes:

For the sake of picking a team, I’ll choose the Wizards, just because. John Wall and Bradley Beal should have a significant advantage over Kirk Hinrich and DJ Augustin and that honestly might be enough for the Wizards to sneak by Chicago, especially since the Bulls struggle so much on the offensive end of the floor.

Pippen Ain’t Easy:

I want to thank Ben Mehic, Editor of The Wiz of Awes for taking the time to talk to Pippen Ain’t Easy and the Pippen Peoples on what should be an interesting and entertaining series. But Ben, you know the Bulls are going to win right?