Wednesday, April 8, 2011Posted: 4:50 p.m.
By Aggrey Sam
CSNChicago.com
CLEVELANDThursday nights halftime ceremony, during which a bust for Bulls legend Scottie Pippen was unveiled, held a special meaning to one of the current Bulls.
Swingman Ronnie Brewer, a native of Fayetteville, Ark., talked to CSNChicago.com about Pippens influence in their shared home state.
Before we really knew who Jordan was, we just knew a guy from Hamburg, Ark., who went to Central Arkansas. I think the majority of the people from Arkansas put him on a pedestal before they put Jordan there, just because it was an inspiration to guys who were trying to make it, said Brewer, whose father, Ron, also played in the NBA. It gave guys someone to look up to. Theres not a lot of guys who made it out of Arkansas, who made it to the league, so he was the motivation and inspiration for me.
While Brewer hasnt reached the heights of Pippen during his career, he says his full-court style, emphasis on defense and overall versatility were partly patterned after the Hall of Fame small forward.
Scottie, a lot of people didnt give him a lot of credit. He didnt just play on one end on the floor. He stepped his game up on defense and he was very versatile. Thats what I try to do when I play the game, try to do more than one thing, Brewer told CSNChicago.com. Your shots not going to be on every night, so you have to try to affect the game in a number of different ways and to me, its a testament to him because he did that by distributing the ball, playing defense, rebounding and a lot of other things. I think he changed the game.
NBA
Magic to be without Howard when Bulls visit
As a result of incurring his 18th technical foul of the season, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard will be suspended for Sundays matinee game against the Bulls at the Amway Center.
The All-Star center received a technical for reacting after he was called for a 10-second violation while shooting free throws during the Magics win over the Charlotte Bobcats Wednesday.
By NBA rules, a player who receives over 16 technical fouls will be suspended for a game without pay for every technical received over that number, making this Howards second such suspension this season.
Additionally, the Magic will be without swingman Quentin Richardson for Sundays game. Richardson, a Chicago native, was suspended for two games for shoving Bobcats swingman Gerald Henderson during Wednesdays game.
Reinsdorf speaks with Hill, mother after spitting incident
Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf spoke to Phoenix Suns small forward Grant Hill Thursday night, in the aftermath of Tuesdays incident at the United Center, according to a team spokesman.
Following Tuesdays Bulls win over the Suns, Hill was reportedly spat upon by a fan in the United Center. According to reports, Hill first went after the fan before being restrained by security guards, who then detained the offender.
Reinsdorf previously had a 15-minute phone conversation with Hills mother, Janet, a renowned lawyer, Thursday afternoon.