NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 24 Natural Enemy (2)

Probably because of the grudge between the All-Stars and Thomas in 1985, over the years, Jordan has always played against the Pistons with great enthusiasm, often hitting good shots and getting high scores from time to time. On January 1987, 1, the Bulls played the Pistons at home, and Jordan scored 3 points.On March 47 of the same year, Jordan scored 3 points in an away game against the Pistons. On November 4, the Bulls played the Pistons at home, and Jordan scored 61 points. On April 11, 21, the Bulls played the Pistons away, which was broadcast live on national TV. Jordan scored another 49 points to give the Bulls a two-point victory. This time, Daly really had enough. "We made up our minds right away that we couldn't let Michael Jordan beat us on his own again," Daly said. "We had to do it with the strength of the whole team."

So, Daly and his assistants Dick Versace (Dick Versace) and Ron Rothstein (Ron Rothstein) worked together to design a defensive strategy specifically for Jordan.In this strategy, every player on the Pistons has extremely specific responsibilities-when Jordan gets the ball at a 45-degree angle, you go here, you do this; Watching him, you pay attention to that side; when Jordan breaks through with the ball head-on, you, you, you shrink at the same time, blocking his way forward; and so on.This set of defensive strategies has a widely spread name called "Jordan Rules" (the Jordan Rules).

Since the guidance of the "Jordan Rules", the Pistons played against the Bulls again, and the players' defensive thinking became clearer and their strikes became more ruthless.They were aggressive, and rough physical collisions were commonplace. As long as they could disrupt Jordan's rhythm and force him to pass the ball, the Pistons would do anything.Every time Jordan makes a shot, he has to put in a lot of effort.Collins later said: "Their philosophy is, do anything to stop Michael."

The "Jordan Rule" works. In May 1988, the Bulls and Pistons met in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and the Pistons eliminated the Bulls in just five games.In these five games, Jordan only scored 5 points in one game (the Bulls won this one), averaging only 30 points per game, while he averaged 27.4 points per game in the regular season and 35.0 points in the first round of the playoffs.

In this series, the Pistons won a home game first, and the Bulls stole a victory in Detroit in the second game. This sounded like a wake-up call. The Pistons suddenly felt that it was time to show their strength. Next, they won three games in a row to advance.Collins believes that the Pistons beat the Bulls this time, which is of great significance to their sublimation into a championship team.Thomas agreed, saying: "The loss in Game [-] (to the Bulls) made us a better team and pushed us further toward the NBA championship. We fought like crazy in Game [-]. At the time We didn't know it, but that game was a turning point, and our future was about to change dramatically."

After eliminating the Bulls, the Pistons defeated the Celtics 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals and officially dominated the Eastern Conference.Their opponent in the finals was the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. After the first five games, the Pistons led 3-2.In the sixth game, Thomas played an epic performance. He scored 25 points in the third quarter, setting a personal scoring record in a single quarter of the NBA Finals. He contributed 43 points, 8 assists, and 6 steals.With more than four minutes left in the third quarter, Thomas suffered a severe ankle sprain, but he insisted on returning to the court and continued his scoring show with the injury.In the last minute of the fourth quarter, the Pistons still lead by 1 points. The backstage is already preparing for the championship award ceremony. The trophy has been moved to the Pistons locker room. But then the situation changed suddenly. The Lakers scored 3 points in a row. Failed, the Lakers narrowly escaped death.Thomas' injury affected the Pistons' performance in Game 4. The Lakers won again with home court advantage, and the Pistons finally lost the championship with a total score of 3-4.This year, they were only forty seconds away from the top of the league.

When the Bulls were eliminated by the Pistons in 1988, one thing was obvious: The Bulls had to add a big center.

The Pistons have Lambiel, Sally and James Edwards at the center position, and Mahon and Rodman at the power forward position, while the Bulls have only two excellent power forwards, Oakley and Grant, But there is no real reliable center to match it.The Bulls' starting center Dave Colkin was a very hardworking player. His teammates, coaches, and management all liked him, but his talent was really limited, so he became a target for fans to attack. Fans often booed Colkin. Express dissatisfaction with the team.

Krause analyzed the 1988 draft situation.Since the Bulls performed well that year, ranked quite high, and did not have a high draft pick, Krause understood that he had no chance to select the center he wanted and could only seek a trade.At that time, the team most likely to use a center as a bargaining chip was the Knicks. They had Patrick Ewing and Bill Cartwright.Although the Knicks often line up the "Twin Towers" lineup and let Ewing and Cartwright start together, the two do not adapt to each other and it is difficult to coexist.

The rise of Grant gave Klaus a bottom line.Although Oakley has become one of the best rebounders in the league, Grant's performance at the end of his rookie season showed that he is a more talented all-around player, and the Bulls need to give him more playing time.This means that Oakley can be traded.

Krause first tried to trade Oakley for a high pick in order to bring in 7-foot-4 (2.24 meters) Dutch center Rik Smits, but it didn't work.After that, Krauss focused on Cartwright.Years later, Krause admitted that trading Oakley for Cartwright was the most difficult trade decision he had ever made, because picking Oakley was his first achievement as the Bulls general manager.

For timing reasons, the Bulls did not notify Oakley of his trade in advance.Oakley was traveling to Las Vegas with Jordan to watch a Mike Tyson boxing match, and the two were pissed off when they heard the news from the media.In fact, Jordan looked angrier than Oakley himself.Oakley was Jordan's best friend on the team and the "team policeman," who would step up to defend Jordan if anyone tried to trick him -- something the Pistons often did.Now that Oakley is suddenly sent away, how can Jordan not be angry?
Not long after the trade, Jordan asked assistant coach Bach: "Who will be the new policeman?"

Bach tentatively offered an answer: "Horace Grant?"

Jordan immediately retorted: "Come on! I can take care of Horace, how can he protect me?"

Jordan's dissatisfaction with this deal lasted for a long time.Not only was he not happy about losing Oakley, but he also disliked Cartwright at all.

When Cartwright first entered the league, he enjoyed a high reputation in the circle and was considered to be a star center of the generation, but his physical condition was not so suitable for the inside competition in the NBA, his shoulders were not wide enough, and his muscles were not developed enough.Cartwright has had trouble with his feet for years, and the Bulls carefully examined him before the trade.Jordan referred to Cartwright as "Pharmaceutical Bill" to satirize him with too many injuries.

Considering Cartwright's injury history, Krause also adjusted his draft strategy that year.He wanted Michigan guard Dan Majerle very badly, but instead used the No. 11 pick in the first round of the trade to draft center Will Perdue as Carter Wright's spare tire.In fact, among all the candidate centers, apart from Rick Schmitz, what Klaus wants most is Syracuse University's Lebanese center Rony Seikaly, because Seikaly's offensive ability is stronger than Perdue, but Sekley was taken away by the Miami Heat at No. 9, and Schmitz was locked by the Indiana Pacers early as the No. 14 pick.As for Marly, he fell to [-]th and went to the Phoenix Suns.

Apart from injuries, Jordan's criticism of Cartwright also includes that Cartwright has a pair of "butter hands".Sometimes in practice, Jordan would purposely push the ball too hard for Cartwright, and Cartwright couldn't catch it, thus confirming Jordan's point.No one misunderstood Cartwright more than Jordan, and it took almost two years for Jordan to fully understand it.In effect, Cartwright gave the Bulls what they desperately needed.The Bulls must have a real big center with considerable combat effectiveness, and Cartwright is exactly that kind of person.

Cartwright's hands are certainly not dexterous, and as he grows older, his body is aging and his offensive ability is also declining, but his 7 feet 1 inches (2.16 meters) ([-] meters) height, quick mind and tough style are An indispensable element on the Bulls' defensive end.Cartwright will always carefully study the offensive moves of the opponent's excellent center, and then relentlessly get stuck in the game.Later facts proved that no one defended Ewing better than Cartwright, which became an important plus factor for the Bulls in the Eastern Conference competition.

Teammates later nicknamed Cartwright "The Teacher" because he always had a way to teach those taller, stronger and faster centers a lesson.Guard Craig Hodges recalled: "The Bills would get up to every center at the three-point line and start running into them. Just when they thought they were in the paint, they were still there. Out there, that's where we want them to be. He's got Patrick Ewing working hard on every shot, and that's an art. He's got all the centers out of their normal game. Like a teacher in the house, The 'teacher' took control of the classroom."

Once in training, Jordan and Cartwright faced each other directly. Jordan tried his best to dunk Cartwright on the head. Cartwright also stubbornly refused to happen. Everyone held their breath, and Cartwright slowly lowered Jordan to the ground.Jordan has at least changed his tune on Cartwright since then.

Many years later, Jordan also admitted that he was wrong about the Cartwright trade.Jordan said: "I think we need the kind of toughness that Charles (Oakley) brings to us, because we are still trying to break through Detroit. But it turns out that in terms of the direction our team is going, that is an important deal. …It took a long time for me to appreciate what Bill brought to us, to appreciate how he made up for the loss of Charles. I love having Charles on this team, but Bill was pivotal.”

(End of this chapter)