NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 18 Lone Star (1)

Sure enough, Stan Albeck was fired, and he only sat on the Bulls head coach for a year.During his coaching season, Jordan spent most of his time recuperating from his injuries. Therefore, the Bulls' poor performance is actually not his fault.However, grades are secondary. Albeck's dislike of Leinsdorf and Klaus is the real reason for his dismissal.Probably on the night that Jordan injured his left foot, Albeck's fate was sealed.

In the last month of the 1985-1986 season, Doug Collins was already secretly inspecting the Bulls.Ahlbeck fired and Collins replaced him.He was only 35 years old at the time, making him one of the youngest head coaches in NBA history.Collins has a sunny personality, passionate, smart, and quick thinking. His old assistant Johnny Bach (Johnny Bach) once said: "If a game can call 30 timeouts, he will win every game."

Collins is very excited to coach the Bulls because he has the best young player in the league, Michael Jordan.Collins himself was also an excellent player. As a white guard, he had the bounce and speed of a black man. At the peak of his sports career, he averaged about 20 points per game in the NBA.It's a pity that injuries prematurely ended Collins' playing career, and he had no choice but to retire before he was 30 years old.Collins felt that he and Jordan had a lot in common. For example, he was convinced that he understood the pressure of players in the modern basketball game better than those old coaches, because he had experienced it first-hand. For example, he also suffered a serious foot injury.

In the summer of 1986, the Bulls season ended and the offseason came.Before Jordan left the team, Krause asked him to meet with Collins first.The three sat down and Krause said he hoped Jordan wouldn't play all summer. Jordan looked into Krause's eyes and replied, "Listen, I'm going back to North Carolina to play basketball. That's how I've improved. You must play basketball in the summer. In addition, before the end of the season, I will play more than 40 minutes a game." Klaus refused: "You are an asset of the Bulls, and we can instruct you what you can and cannot do."

That was Collins' first meeting with Jordan as a head coach.Collins talked about his foot injury, mentioned the blood supply problem in some parts, he said, it was an injury that was difficult to treat and difficult to recover from.Collins suggested that Jordan take a good rest in the summer, don't overtrain, and don't put too much pressure on the feet.He also deliberately added that the injury he suffered was exactly the same as that of Jordan, which means that they have the same disease and pity each other, and they should stand on the same front.But when Collins said something and Klaus agreed, the words changed in Jordan's ears.Jordan felt that Collins was obviously with Klaus. They just wanted to unite to dissuade him from playing in the summer and to control him in this meeting.So, Jordan put on a cool expression and said to Collins: "That's your foot. This is mine." The first time the general met, the effect was not ideal.Collins later realized that Jordan probably misunderstood his intentions. He was actually just out of concern for Jordan's injury and advised Jordan not to act too hastily.

Klaus warned Jordan: As long as you play games in the summer, we will punish you.Jordan was furious: "You can't control my time! Summer is my time! I work for the Chicago Bulls eight months a year, but I'm not anyone's 'asset'!"

A few weeks later, alumni from North Carolina and UNLV (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) were going to play a charity game in Las Vegas, and Collins especially didn't want Jordan to participate.He suggested to Jordan that you can show up at the game, but don't play.Collins even suggested that Jordan put the blame on him, but Jordan said: "I'm heavy, you can't carry it."

Jordan revealed in his autobiography many years later that he was indeed resistant at the time, but he was not crazy, and he was unwilling to have another dispute with the management, so he had actually informed Dean Smith and the alumni that he would go to the scene to support North Carolina. , but won't play the game.However, as soon as he arrived in Las Vegas, Jordan received a message from Krause in the room: "I know you can't fight, but if you do, we will punish you with the greatest strength." Now Jordan was mad.

When he arrived at the arena and found that Krause and Collins were sitting in the front row, making a special trip to see if he would play, Jordan was even more angry.At this time, the North Carolina team had already assembled in the locker room and was ready to play. Jordan glared at Krause and Collins, rushed into the locker room, and said to everyone: "Give me a jersey."

Jordan not only played, but also scored a lot of points, becoming the most eye-catching character in that game.His opponent is not a UNLV player. In his heart, this is a game against Krause and Collins.Klaus really planned to punish Jordan later, but because of the "love of the game clause" in Jordan's contract, he finally failed to punish him.

After the charity game, Jordan and Collins had dinner in peace.Jordan said: "I know you will not be happy to see me on the court, but I want you to know that I just experienced the worst year of my life due to injuries. There are too many people who don't understand me and my body at all. Keep telling me what to do, telling me what's right for me, but really, they're only thinking about what's right for them. I don't want to go through that again."

Collins replied that he could understand, telling Jordan: "I'm not a front office person on this one. I'm just a guy who loves to play, and having lost too much of my own career to the same injury, I don't Hope it happens to you."

After this heart-to-heart conversation, Jordan untied the knot in his heart, and his relationship with Collins improved.That summer, Jordan also rushed to Arizona to visit Collins' home.This visit, half public and half private, aims to enhance mutual understanding between the two.Originally, Jordan only planned to stay for a short time, play golf with Collins in the morning, and fly back to Chicago that day.Collins had two friends who were very good golfers, so Collins and Jordan split and each teamed up with one of Collins' friends.As a result, Collins won that day, and Jordan was unhappy. How could he leave with a defeat?So Jordan decided to stay overnight at Collins' house.The four fought again the next day, and Jordan and his partner won, and Jordan went back contentedly.

The new year is coming soon, and the cooperation between Jordan and Collins has begun.

In the 1986-1987 season, the Bulls played the Knicks in New York for the first time in the regular season.At that time, the Knicks had the twin towers of Ewing and Bill Cartwright (Bill Cartwright) on the inside, and there was no shortage of sharp knives like Gerald Wilkins (Gerald Wilkins) on the outside, while the Bulls only had Jordan and a bunch of strengths. Enough to play a backup center.Fortunately, that night, Jordan was very excited. He was very happy to return to play in the NBA, and he was still in Madison Square Garden, known as the "Basketball Mecca".

Jordan was full of energy, scoring 16 points in the first half.Collins could feel his desire to control the game, but worried that he was pushing too hard.During the intermission, Collins reminded Jordan: "Michael, relax, you don't have to do everything yourself. Wait, let the game come to you."

In fact, Collins himself was very nervous and sweated a lot. By the second half, his shirt was soaked.He was chewing gum in his mouth, and out of superstition, he never replaced it with a new one. As a result, he chewed some saliva and got the saliva on his face.With about 2 minutes left in the game, the scene was paused. Jordan took a glass of water and handed it to Collins, saying, "Hey, coach, drink some water and wipe the dirt off your face. I won't let you lose yours." The first match."

do as promised.Jordan scored 50 points, including the team's final 11, to give the Bulls victory.Throughout the night, he has been flying around in the air, and told reporters after the game: Usually dunks, occasionally jumping too high, his wrist will hit the basket, but this night, he even hit his elbow.After the game, Jordan told his dad how excited he was by the audience at Madison Square Garden.James Jordan asked his son, "So you play over the crowd, not the floor?" Michael replied, "I play over the crowd all the time."

The first battle in New York started, and Jordan couldn't stop it.In Cleveland the next day, he scored another 41 points; in mid-November when he played against the Celtics at home, he scored 11 points; In nine consecutive games, Jordan scored 4 points per game. In these nine games, the Bulls moved to nine cities, only one in Chicago, and the rest were all away games.

The 1986-1987 season was Jordan's most gorgeous year in scoring statistics in the NBA. In 82 regular season games, he scored a total of 3 points, averaging 041 points per game, becoming the NBA scoring leader for the first time in his career.Looking back on the year, Jordan said, "It must have been difficult, if not impossible, to score consistently like I did in 37.1-1986."

He wrote in his autobiography:
82 games, I've been attacking from the first jump ball to the final whistle.That's my mindset.In terms of physical talent, that team was the worst of all the seasons I've been with the Bulls.We started the season with Steve Colter at point guard, Earl Cureton and Charles Oakley at forward, and Granville · Waiters (Granville Waiters) played center.I knew that if we were going to be successful, I needed to score more.I'm sure Doug Collins thought so too.

I hit 9 in nine straight games.You don't know how much energy it takes to score 40 points in one night.There is a big difference between averaging 40 points per game and averaging a little more than 32 points per game throughout the season.Think of it this way: If I score 37 points one night, I have to score 32 the next night to tie.

It was a different era, though, and few teams defended as finely as they do today.And, apart from Detroit (Pistons) the following season (1987-1988), no team had their entire defensive plan focused on limiting one player.That's why I always say Wilt Chamberlain can't average 50 points a game today, he can't even be the leading scorer.What can I do if I match up with John Stockton every night without double-teaming?I would stand in the box and score every time I got the ball.This is not much different from what Wilt did back then.Do you want to see what Wilt Chamberlain looks like in today's game?Just look at Shaquille O'Neal, he's the modern day.

This season, the Bulls are 40 wins and 42 losses, 10 more games than the previous year, but the winning percentage is still less than 50%.They once again entered the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Their first-round opponent was the Celtics again, and they were swept again in the end.Jordan was selected to the NBA All-NBA Team for the first time, but at this moment, he is far from proving himself a winner. In people's minds, he is just an outstanding individual and a lone star.

However, Jordan began to take off personally, and the Bulls team also improved. In the summer of 1987, the Chicago Bulls reaped a lot of money, and the most important figures in Jordan's basketball career came to him one by one.

1986-1987 season
Regular season: 82 games, 37.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.9 steals, shooting 48.2%
Playoffs: 3 games, 35.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 41.7% shooting
NBA All-NBA First Team

NBA scoring champion

9 | Pippen
When he first took office in 1985, Krause thought the Chicago Bulls were a tragedy.Some players on the team are good boys but lack talent, while others have serious problems in character and living habits.In the original lineup, as many as five people later received drug treatment.Orlando Woolridge was a typical representative of the Bulls at that time. He had good talent, a strong body, and his muscles were carved out of stone, but everyone thought he was not tough. Jordan sometimes rushed in training. He got angry: "If I had your body, others would have flown a few meters away."

Klaus mercilessly removed those players he didn't like from the team one by one, in exchange for various draft picks, so that he could flex his muscles in the future.Slowly, with Jordan as the core, Klaus created a brand new lineup, a brand new team.

The first real piece of the puzzle is forward Charles Oakley. In the spring of 1985, Krauss met Oakley at Virginia Union University, seeing that he had a body, strength and willingness to fight for his life, and he was very pleased.To secure Oakley, Krause traded guard Ennis Whatley and a second-round pick to the Cavaliers in that year's draft. In the ninth round, the Bulls selected Oakley, and the Bulls took Keith Lee (Keith Lee) for the Cavaliers in the 9th round.All of Krause's expectations for Oakley later became a reality. What's even more wonderful is that Jordan likes Oakley.Since 11, Jordan has looked at the Bulls management with suspicion and even hostility, but Oakley, who was selected by Krause, Jordan 1986% approves.Oakley not only became Jordan's bodyguard on the court, but also became Jordan's best friend on the team.

Krause also wants to have a pure shooter or two next to Jordan. In early October 1985, he first acquired white guard Kyle Messi from the Phoenix Suns. In the 10-1985 season, Messi averaged nearly 1986 minutes per game for the Bulls. His flaws, especially the lack of defensive ability, were fully exposed, so in September 30, Klaus sent Messi away again.Fortunately, there are alternate plans. In late October 1986, Krause also acquired John Paxson from the San Antonio Spurs.John Paxson, the younger brother of Blazers star guard Jim Paxson, was long wanted by Krause.At that time, other teams offered Paxson a contract. After the Bulls signed Messi, Paxson thought they were no longer interested in him, but to his surprise, Klaus offered him a three-year contract. A guaranteed one-year contract, which Paxson happily accepted.

Playing next to Jordan is very attractive to Paxson, because he will definitely get many open shots.Krause told Paxson that he wanted to build a shooting-focused team in Chicago, where everyone had to be able to shoot and the ball had to move quickly.Paxson liked the idea, and he knew he was suited for the game.

Messi may be a better shooter than Paxson, but he's not physically strong enough to create his own shots at the intensity of the NBA. In the 1985-1986 season, Messi played more minutes and scored more points than Paxson, but it was clear that Paxson was a better and more comprehensive athlete, and more importantly, Jordan also preferred Paxson.

(End of this chapter)