NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 28 Triangle (1)

The surprise of the 1989 playoffs did not renew Collins' life.Krause later told Phil Jackson: Before the Bulls-Pistons series was over, he told his boss Reinsdorf that Collins had to be replaced and a coach who could win the championship came up.Sure enough, after the season, Krause fired Collins and let 44-year-old Phil Jackson take over as coach.

Jackson didn't expect that he would become the head coach of the Bulls so soon. He felt that at least Billy McKinney should be ahead of him.McKinney has always been a follower of Winter and Krause, but he suddenly got an opportunity. The new army Minnesota Timberwolves invited him to be the director of player personnel, and McKinney accepted.

Leinsdorf later said: "One of the greatest unrecognized decisions Jerry Krause made was getting Phil Jackson from the CBA."

Before deciding to appoint Jackson as head coach, Reinsdorf made a call to Jackson's former teammate, Senator Bill Bradley.Reinsdorf asked: How good can Jackson be as a coach?Bradley replied: It will be very good, "He considers the team and always pays attention to the individual."

Opportunities are actually coming one after another.Before the Bulls decided to appoint Jackson, Dick McGuire (Dick McGuire), Jackson's first coach when he was playing in the Knicks, approached him and asked him if he was interested in replacing Rick Pitino and returning to New York to coach, Jackson Said of course interested.But soon, Leinsdorf invited Jackson to meet at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.Jackson has always liked the owner of Leinsdorf, because Leinsdorf grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and was a loyal fan of the Knicks back then.Leinsdorf heard that Jackson was interested in the position of coach of the Knicks, so he asked Jackson: Which team would you rather coach?Bulls or Knicks?Jackson said: I have played in New York and have deep feelings for New York, but at the same time I feel that the Bulls have the strength to win multiple championships, and the Knicks are lucky if they can win one championship.In short, Jackson would prefer to stay in Chicago.

A few weeks later, when the Jacksons were in their native Montana, Krauss called and asked him to find a safe phone.Jackson came to town on his motorcycle and called Krause on a pay phone. Krause told him that the Bulls had decided to change coaches, and that the new coach would be him.Jackson was overjoyed.In Chicago, he will coach the best player in the league and lead a talented young team.

However, it is of course not so easy to combine these favorable conditions together.Entering his sixth season as a pro, Jordan was slowly becoming stubborn, accustomed to playing on a team that lacked offensive talent, and he was suspicious of every player on the team except Paxson.Jackson's first challenge is to make the talented Jordan willing to share basketball and share shooting opportunities with a group of mortals.

Jackson felt that the Bulls needed an offensive system.He doesn't see himself as a very talented offensive coach, but he wants to build an offense.Prior to this, the Bulls' offense relied too much on Jordan personally, it was as simple and rude as "throw the ball to Jordan, and others quickly get out of the way".Establishing a system is especially important for players other than Jordan, so that they can understand their roles and work hard to integrate into the offense on the court.Jackson knew that it was not easy to coexist with someone as talented as Jordan, even the best players.Center Kerkin once said that Jordan was so good that whenever the Bulls won, people said it was because of him, and if they lost, it was everyone else's fault.

How Jordan sees his teammates is a serious question.He saw Grant's strengths and potential, but he didn't think Grant was a smart player, nor did he think Grant could shoot key shots late in the game.Pippen is more complicated, he has been improving, his athleticism is even starting to match Jordan, especially defense, and he has a very good feel for the game, but he is not a particularly good shooter. It is still a question for Jordan how he can perform at the critical moment.The person Jordan really trusts is Paxson, because Paxson is not only a reliable pitcher, but also knows his position very well. He knows what he should do, and more importantly, he knows what he should not do when Jordan is on the court.

Collins dismissed get out of class, and the two old assistants remained in the Bulls to provide help and support for Jackson.Johnny Bach is the basketball master of the eastern style, advocating fierce and confrontational basketball; Tex Winter is the basketball master of the western style, admiring smooth, fast and unrestrained basketball.

Bach is a "living encyclopedia of basketball strategies" and is not obsessed with a particular basketball system.Sometimes, Jackson studied the offense of other teams, and when he saw an unfamiliar tactic, he invited Bach over. Bach could tell at a glance who invented what tactic.With the Bulls, Bach was in charge of defense. He had served in the Navy and liked to inspire players with various military graphics and clips from war movies.For example, the Ace of Spades is one of Bach's favorite symbols. According to him, the Marine Corps often used the Ace of Spades to commemorate the comrades who died in battle during World War II. The ace of spades, that means, as soon as the player has the ball, the Bulls' defense must "kill" him.

Unlike Bach, Winter has his own specific expertise, which is the "triangle offense" (the triangle offense, which Winter also used to call the triple-post offense) that became famous in the basketball world.The triangle offense wasn't actually invented by Winter. He learned it from coach Sam Barry while playing at USC.Winter delved into the triangle offense, revolutionized the triangle offense, and applied it to coaching. In 1962, he wrote this concept into a book, and he became the iconic figure of the triangle offense.

Jackson loves Winter's triangle offense.When coaching in the CBA, Jackson has been looking for a suitable offensive system, similar to the offensive system used by the Knicks in the championship era.Later, he joined the Bulls coaching staff. One season, Jackson and Winter co-coached the Bulls' summer league, and Jackson became a supporter of the triangle offense.Jackson likes to describe the triangle offense as "five-man tai chi." Its basic principle is: through the continuous movement of players on the field, it can lure the opponent's defense to lose balance, thereby creating a large number of opportunities.The reason why it is named "triangle offense" is because its most basic form is the sideline triangle.For example, Pippen dribbles upfield and forms a triangle with Paxson and Cartwright on the right side of the field, with Cartwright in the paint and Paxson in the corner, keeping about 15 to 18 feet between them ( 4.6 meters to 5.5 meters), at the same time, Jordan is cruising at the top of the arc, and Grant is standing on the left side of the field; next, Pippen passes the ball to Cartwright, and everyone on the field starts to move in coordination. React to change.

For a team running the triangle offense, the important thing is not to match up with the defender, but to trick the defender into overreacting, moving several people in one direction at the same time, thereby creating scoring opportunities for the offensive player in the opposite direction.In theory, the triangle offense is unstoppable when executed correctly because it has no set formula and the defense has no way of predicting what will happen next.If the defense tries to stop an attack, the offense will react instinctively to the change in the defense and start another cut and pass, often creating a better chance.

The core of the triangle offense system is the seven principles summarized by Winter.Winter believes that only by achieving these seven points can the offense be considered reasonable and effective.The seven principles are:
1. The offense must penetrate the defense.To run the system, the first step is to break the perimeter of the defense with a drive, pass or shot.The best option is to pass the ball into the penalty area and strive for a strong three-pointer.

2. The offense must include a full-court fast break.The transition offense starts with the defense.Players must be able to play the fast break and show their skills in the fast-paced transition from defense to offense.

3. The offense must provide space.This is critical.When players move around the field, they should stay 15 feet to 18 feet apart from each other, which gives everyone room to maneuver and prevents the opposing team from being able to use one person to target two people.

4. The offense must ensure that players and the basketball move with purpose.Every player is on the court, on average, about 80% of the time without the ball in their hands.In the triangle offense, players off the ball have a set route to run, so that the whole team can coordinate their actions with purpose.Some players are used to holding the ball. When the ball is not in his hands, he will tend to move in the direction of the ball. But after staying in the triangle offense for a long time, such a player will learn to stay away from the ball holder and move to the open position, which will make the opponent more trouble.

5. The offense must provide strong rebounding positions and excellent defensive balance.Everyone in the triangle offense knows that after the ball is shot, it is necessary to seize the right position, grab the rebound, or block the opponent's fast break.Position is everything, especially when it comes to rebounding.

6. The offense must allow the ball handler the opportunity to pass the ball to any teammate.The movement of the players so that the ball handler can see them and pass the ball to them at any time, a connection is established between all of them.When a defense presses a point on the field, a hole opens up somewhere that the defender can't see.If the offensive player moves correctly, the ball handler should be able to find his teammates in the gaps in the defense.

7. The offense must take advantage of the technical characteristics of the players.The system requires everyone to be an offensive threat, which means they all have to figure out what they do best.As Paxson puts it, "You can find a way to fit into the offense, no matter what your strengths are. I'm not a very creative player, I'm not going to dribble to the basket, but I'm a Good pitcher, and the system finds my strengths, it helps me understand what I do well, it finds areas where I can be effective."

The triangle offense not only requires players to be highly unselfish, but it is also quite flexible, allowing players to develop their own personal creativity.Jackson thought it was a good fit for him, a good fit for the Bulls.At the same time, he also feels that the triangle offense can make Jordan a more comprehensive offensive threat. He can use Jordan to play singles, which can help Jordan save energy and prolong his career.The problem was, Jackson had to get Jordan to the triangle offense first.It took him almost two seasons to basically achieve this goal.

Jackson stands between Winter and Jordan. He has to balance the strong personalities of these two people and two completely different basketball philosophies.Jordan and Winter had opposing views on basketball.In a sense, both are right, and both are wrong, because they have fundamentally different perspectives.Jordan has super athletic talent, he can completely rely on his own ability to change the game; and what Winter saw is that the vast majority of players do not have Jordan's talent, so the system must be used to make up for the gap in talent.

Winter's philosophy is worthy of praise, but Jordan's opinion should not be underestimated.No one can read the defense better than Jordan, and no one can score faster than Jordan. All of this, Jordan is done by instinct.If you put too much emphasis on the system, you will suppress Jordan's unique instinct.

However, Winter would not like the team's offense relying too much on star talent.Winter always said: "I think Michael is a very, very great player, but I'm not a groupie."

There was a famous quarrel between Jordan and Winter—

Winter said: "There is no I (me) in TEAM (team)."

Jordan said: "WIN (victory) has an I in it."

The two were playing word games, talking about both English words and basketball concepts.

In his heart, Jordan believed that times had changed, and so had basketball. A new generation of talented, tall, and fast players had made the old basketball system obsolete, and the game began to become a game where players created scoring opportunities for themselves.In fact, no one did it better than Jordan.Therefore, Jordan repelled Jackson's reintroduction of the triangle offense.Before Collins promoted the triangle offense, he was very cold.Jordan felt that the triangle offense suppressed his talents, but failed to bring enough feedback.He calls the triangle offense an "equal opportunity offense," which is no compliment.

Jackson emphasized to Jordan: According to your method, the Bulls have come to an end in the playoffs.The farther he goes in the playoffs, the more the opponent will find a strong defensive player to limit a superstar like him. No matter how strong the individual talent is, it can only bring the team to this point.

Just after Labor Day in 1989 (the first Monday in September), Jackson interviewed Jordan in his office."You have to share the spotlight with your teammates because if you don't, they're not going to grow," Jackson said.

Jordan asked: "Does that mean we're going to use Tex's equal opportunity offense?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Well, I think we're going to have trouble when the ball goes to some people," Jordan said, "because they can't pass the ball, and they can't make decisions with the ball." Jordan said, mainly It was Grant and Cartwright.

"I get that," Jackson replied, "but I think if you give the system a chance, they'll learn to be the ones who make the offense. It's important to get everyone on the ball so they don't feel It's the crowd. You can't beat a good defensive team by yourself, it's the whole team."

Jordan's final answer was: "OK, you know me, I've always been a teachable player. No matter what you want to do, I support you."

Jackson also suggested that it might not be a bad thing if Jordan can't win the scoring title, because up to that time, the last NBA scoring title in the season to win the championship was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1971, and there has been no such thing for nearly 20 years. The situation is gone.Jordan didn't think it was a problem, saying, "I guess I can average 32 points a game, 8 points a quarter. Others can't do that." Jackson replied, "Well, if you can do that, maybe you can You can win the championship. However, can your scores come more from the end of the game?" Jordan agreed.

(End of this chapter)