NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 21 Flying (1)

Phil Jackson's first concrete job with the Bulls was to hone the skills of rookie Pippen.Pippen has great physical gifts, but his skills are still rough. All Jackson has to do is teach him how to create his own shots and how to harness his athleticism.This initial cooperation laid a solid foundation for their good relationship for more than ten years.

Jackson and Jordan didn't get off to a great start.

Not long after he joined the team, when he talked about Jordan with the rest of the coaching staff, Jackson quoted Reed Holzman (Jackson’s coach when he played in New York, a legendary coach in NBA history) as saying: The sign of a player’s greatness is not his ability. How many points he gets, but how much he can improve the performance of his teammates.

Collins was very excited when he heard it: "You should tell Michael this." Jackson hesitated, but Collins insisted: "No, you should tell him now." Jackson didn't know if he had fallen into Collins' trick, but he also Want to know what Jordan thinks, I really went to the gym to find Jordan, and found that Jordan was chatting with people in the weight room.Jackson was a little embarrassed, but he still told Jordan Holzman's motto.He didn't forget to mention that it was Collins who thought I should tell you this.

Jordan had no expression on his face. He thanked Jackson, but he was not very happy in his heart.He later recounted the conversation to his teammates and added his own: with Earl Monroe, Walter Frazier, Bill Bradley It is of course much easier to play basketball, the so-called "making others around you better".Monroe, Frazier, and Bill Bradley are all former teammates of Jackson and excellent players in the Knicks' championship era.

It is normal for Jordan to be unhappy, because he has heard too many similar reminders and hints, and someone will whisper in his ear over and over again in the future: Michael Jordan, you may be the greatest genius in basketball history, Probably the best one-on-one player, but have you improved the abilities of your teammates?Have you made the team better?Have you weathered the toughest test of the NBA playoffs yet?
At that time, Bill Bradley, who had become a senator, had a discussion with "Big O" Oscar Robertson.Oscar Robertson is as famous as Jerry West and is recognized as the two greatest guards in basketball history.

"That Michael Jordan was pretty special," Bradley said.

Robertson disagrees: "No, not that unusual, at least not in my opinion."

Bradley was puzzled, and Robertson replied: "A really great player can make the worst player on the team better, and Michael hasn't done it yet."

Robertson's point of view is representative.At that time, in the elite basketball circle, people did not recognize Jordan as a player at the same level as Bird and "Magician", because Bird and "Magician" led their teams to the finals almost every year, while Jordan's former In three years, only one playoff game has been won. Compared with the team's performance, Jordan is still far behind.

Of course, this judgment is slightly unfair to Jordan.The comrades around Bird are McHale, Parish, Dennis Johnson, Angie, Wharton, and the comrades around "Magic" are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Worthy, Michael Cooper, Byron Scott. Byron Scott, Michael Thompson (Mychal Thompson), and before the 1987-1988 season, Jordan was surrounded by only Woolrich, Oakley, Dave Corzine, and Sellers. It is completely incomparable with Byrd and "Magician".People are critical of Jordan, Jordan understands, but he is very angry: Why do I get so little help?Why can't my teammates have the ability to follow me to another height?Why Bird and the "magician" can have the wind and the rain?
Jordan's competitive personality forced him to use Bird and the "Magician" as imaginary enemies.He craves people's affirmation.If he wants to become the best, he must first catch up with those two seniors, and then surpass them, because they were the people who stood at the top of the world basketball at that time, and they represented the highest level of basketball.Years later, when writing his autobiography about this period, Jordan had this to say:

Even at the end of my career, I was always comparing myself to other players.I want to know where I am, how I am doing, and what needs to be improved.I always wanted to make sure that I did everything I could to stay at the top.It's never been about money, never about business. For me, the game is what really matters.

Early on, I compared myself to "Magic" and Larry (Bird).What can I do to get myself above their level?They're both great all-around players, but they've never been great defenders.I realized that defense could be a way to separate myself from them.I decided that I was going to be a player who could impact the game on both ends of the floor, and I wanted that recognition.

One thing that people see in me that they don't see in "Magic" and Larry is athleticism.They have great talent, but in terms of raw athleticism, I think I have a little more than them.In a way, I think it's hard for people to believe that a guy who can jump and dunk can also be a complete player, but that's what I've done in North Carolina and what I've tried to do in the NBA .

After the 1987-1988 season, the commentators had to say: "This kid can make an impact on both ends of the offense and defense. He is not just a scorer." From then on, when they talked about "Magic" and Larry, they also I have to talk about defense.I feel like, in a way, that season, I made the difference, at least personally.

But I also know that until we win a championship, I won't be fully recognized as a player of their caliber.

Defense is the breakthrough that Jordan found from himself.He will not only continue to pursue Bird and "Magician" in terms of team achievements, but also further improve himself, trying to become an all-around player with a true offensive and defensive balance.

In the 1987-1988 season, Jordan put more energy into defense. In 82 regular season games, he had 259 steals alone, averaging 3.2 times per game, ranking first in the NBA steals list for the first time; at the same time, as a guard, he also blocked 131 caps, averaging 1.4 per game. Also very rare.After the regular season, the NBA awarded Jordan the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Jordan later claimed that this was the most significant and proudest award he had ever received, because it proved to people that he was a What a player - "not just an offensive weapon".

In fact, Jordan never slacked off on the offensive end.Averaged 35.0 points per game. Although he scored 2.1 points less than the previous year, it is still a high standard that others cannot match.He won the scoring title again, surpassing No.2 Dominique Wilkins in the league scoring list by 4.3 points.

Jordan was named to the All-NBA First Team for the second straight year.More importantly, while getting the best defensive player award, he was also elected as the most valuable player (MVP) of the year, which was the first time in his career.The acquisition of these awards shows that the NBA world is increasingly accepting Jordan, affirming Jordan, and Jordan cannot be ignored.

If you know the NBA, you must be clear: a player can get the annual MVP award, not just because of his outstanding personal performance.

The 1987-1988 season was the first year Pippen and Grant joined the Chicago Bulls.For the first time, the coaches feel that every piece of the puzzle that this team needs to succeed may already be in place, and the next thing to do is to hone and grow.These are exciting times.Oakley has become a top blue-collar power forward who can do it. He ranked first in the league's total rebounds for the second consecutive season and ranked second with 13.0 rebounds per game.Paxson has become an excellent backcourt partner for Jordan. Once Jordan is double-teamed, he will step forward and hit a key ball.

Collins was very cruel to Pippen and Grant, staring at them every day, forcing them to improve, and not letting them find excuses to relax.Once the Bulls were going to play against the Denver Nuggets, and Pippen had some pain in his hand, but Collins still wanted him to play, and Pippen was very embarrassed.Collins asks: What if you don't have to handle the ball late in the game, as long as you guard Alex English?Pippen still declined.Collins made it clear: I don't think your excuses are sufficient at all. You have disappointed our coach and the entire team.

Collins did this to make Pippen and Grant tougher as soon as possible, and have enough resilience to deal with the high-intensity competition in the NBA.His oppressive education took immediate effect, and the team improved significantly. They won 50 games in the regular season that year, ranking second in the Central Division and third in the Eastern Conference.In the NBA, 50 wins is a hurdle. If you reach 50 wins, the Bulls will enter the ranks of strong teams.

However, from an internal point of view, the most prominent improvement of the team is not in the game, but in training.Collins later said: "The first sign of the future of the team is the first year or two of training."

Fascinating internal confrontation has two groups, one is Oakley vs. Grant, and the other is Jordan vs. Pippen.The former group is more like a war, because two people compete for the same position, and there is only one winner; the latter group is like teaching, Jordan is the teacher, Pippen is the student, there is no competition between the two, only to make progress together.Jordan is interested in watching Pippen grow. Oakley does not have this kind of friendship with Grant, because if Pippen gets better and better, Jordan will have another high-level comrade-in-arms, and once Grant realizes his full potential , Oakley probably lost his position in the Bulls.

Grant was faster, more athletic and a better shooter than Oakley, but Oakley was bigger, stronger and worked extremely hard than Grant.On the fourth day of the pre-season training camp, Grant went to the weight room and had a long talk with Al Vermeer. He asked Vermeer to formulate a set of weight gain and strength plans for him.The collision with Oakley in training made Grant understand that if his body is not strong, it is impossible to maximize his talent and win in the NBA's basket confrontation.

Jordan had a completely different relationship with Pippen.Jordan could see Pippen's talent, and knew that Pippen lacked a lot of the high-quality coaching he had enjoyed in the North Carolina basketball team. Therefore, Jordan had to hone Pippen's basic skills and instill the toughness required by the NBA. In Pippen's head, in his blood.The harder Pippen learned, the more Jordan was willing to teach.This process will take time, because for a long time, Jordan was very suspicious of Pippen's toughness.They were teammates, and later best buddies, but not really friends.There are huge differences between the two in terms of family background, growth experience, and education. Jordan has great confidence in all aspects of his life, while Pippen is very inferior in some aspects. The poor living environment in Arkansas profoundly affected his personality.

But no matter what, Collins saw more and more frequently that after the team's training, Jordan and Pippen stayed together to practice jump shots together, or Jordan helped Pippen temper various technical movements, such as how to break double-teams, How to move the ball to both sides on the baseline against a tight defense, blah blah blah.Years later, after carefully studying Pippen's technical movements, Collins found that there were traces of Jordan everywhere, or in other words, traces of North Carolina everywhere.

Jordan's performance in the training session made Collins' job much easier.Jordan has always been the hardest-working one on the team, and at the same time, he can't tolerate his teammates being lazy in practice.It couldn't be better for the coaches -- Jordan not only set the example, but often played the bad guy instead of the coaches.Collins understands his flamboyant personality. He understands that if he corrects the players this and that every day, he will quickly arouse the disgust of the players.Well now, Jordan has done a lot of things for him.

During Collins' first two years in charge of the Bulls, there was only one major quarrel between him and Jordan.It was an internal training match. Whoever advanced by 7 goals won the game. Jordan said the score was 5-4, but Collins said it was 5-3. "You miscalculated!" Jordan yelled.The two quarreled, getting louder and louder, and only their voices were heard in the arena.

After arguing and arguing, Collins asked: "Would you talk to Dean Smith like this?" Jordan replied: "No." But this has already hurt Jordan.In Jordan's heart, Dean Smith is supreme, and no coach can compare with him.Collins moved Dean Smith out, only to fuel Jordan's anger.

Suddenly, Jordan turned around and left: "I won't fight anymore!"

Collins reminded him: "Michael, we haven't finished training today!"

Jordan didn't care: "I'm getting out of here!"

Bulls press officer Tim Hallam was also there. He watched Jordan pick up the training bag and really wanted to leave, so he said, "Michael, you can't just leave."

Jordan snapped back viciously, "You better see if I get the fuck out of here." And then he did.

The next day, Jordan returned to the team as usual, and Collins didn't pursue it, wanting to let this matter pass.About two days later, after training, Collins was chatting with a group of team reporters, and one of them asked him: Have you talked to Jordan in the past two days?Collins replied: "No. But I know Michael loves me." As he said this, Collins saw Jordan just come out of the locker room, and he shouted: "Michael, can you give me a kiss and let everyone here See how much you love me?" Jordan really came over, kissed Collins lightly, and the turmoil was over.

After training every day, Collins will first help Jordan practice jump shots for 25 minutes, and then help Pippen practice.After all the practice, the defenders went to the court to play one-on-one, and Pippen was among them.The one-on-one intensity was high, with Jordan, Pippen, and Paxson all very involved in competing with each other, sometimes gambling money.Jordan loved the confrontation, and Pippen was eye-opening. He had never experienced such an internal competitive environment before.

Jordan likes to gamble on everything, he wants to bet on one-on-one, and he also wants to bet on spot-up shooting. The money he gambles is not much, at most 10 US dollars at a time, but it adds passion to training.Often after the training session, Jordan would put his hand to his mouth and coo like a pigeon, which means: Pigeons, show up, it's time to lose money to me!

(End of this chapter)