Who is Lebron's Scottie?

To mention Lebron and Jordan in the same sentence, page, article, or book right now seems almost like a sin. The Jordan comparisons will probably come to an end until, well until Lebron wins a championship. What Lebron needs is his Scottie. Scottie Pippen that is. For the sake of this article I am going to average Scottie Pippen's points, assists, and rebounds per game from the 1990-1991 season until the 1997-1998 season. That span being the time period when the Bulls won their six championships. I will then compare those numbers to the numbers of modern day players in an attempt to find Lebron's Scottie. Here are the numbers for Pippen for the time range specified:

20 Points Per Game, 6 Assists Per Game, 7 Rebounds Per Game

I am going to look at players who have a +/- 4 ppg, +/- 2 apg, and +/- 2 rpg when compared to Scottie's stats. Here are the candidates for Lebron's Scottie based on the stats above and using the requirements listed in the previous sentence. I will be looking at stats from the 2009-2010 season and ESPN is the source. I should also mention that I am not a major NBA analysis. I follow the sport loosely so take what I say with a grain of salt.

[u]First Candidate- Joe Johnson (21 ppg, 5 apg, 5 rpg)[/u]

Kind of ironic that we start out with an Arkansas boy considering Pippen was also an Arkansas boy. I cannot remember watching Pippen very much but Joe Johnson seems to play a little bit like to an extent. Would he be a good Pippen to Lebron? To me he seems a little more selfish than Pippen. The type of guy who wants the team to center around him and that will not work with Lebron.

[u]Second Candidate- Stephen Jackson (21 ppg, 4 apg, 5 rpg)[/u]

It seems like trouble follows this guy but maybe Lebron could change him. He is also emerging from a very solid season at Charlotte so maybe the issues are behind him. He still seems a little divisive to be Lebron's Scottie.

[u]Third Candidate- Tyreke Evans (20 ppg, 6 apg, 5 rpg)[/u]

I know this seems to be a growing trend in my analysis but this guy seems more like the kind of a guy a team centers around and not a guy to play second fiddle although his second fiddle would be fun to watch beside Lebron's symphony. Maybe if this was his 7th year in the league I might have a different opinion but he put up incredible rookie numbers.

[u]Fourth Candidate- Stephen Curry (18 ppg, 6 apg, 5 rpg)[/u]

Doug Gottlieb, hope I got the spelling on the last name right, actually talked about Curry and Lebron playing together on his show today and it made him downright giddy. At least, I think he was.

[u]Fifth Candidate- Andre Iguodala (17 ppg, 6 apg, 7 rpg)[/u]

Definitely seems more like a Pippen than my first three candidates. I don't know a lot about the new A.I. but I would have a hard time betting against him and Lebron.

[u]Sixth Candidate- Russell Westbrook (16 ppg, 8 apg, 5 rbg)[/u]

Excellent candidate but he kind of already has his own Lebron. He is Kevin's Scottie.

[u]Seventh Candidate- Josh Smith (16 ppg, 5 apg, 9 rbg)[/u]

If it was not for Curry and A.I. I would have him at the top of the list.

Conclusion

Let me attempt to be conside here at the end and make two points. I think this research shows you how unique a player Scottie Pippen was. Lebron's Scottie- A.I. or Stephen? Flip a coin.