NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 46 Domineering (1)

After the Barcelona Olympics, the NBA has become more and more popular and more profitable. The income and influence of NBA players are also increasing day by day. Jordan is naturally the most prominent one.In the world, Jordan has become the most well-known American. He is no longer the Jordan who competed with his brother in his own backyard, not the Jordan who competed with Ewing for the championship in college, and not the one who was in the NBA. Jordan against Magic" Johnson and Isaiah Thomas.In Jordan's world today, there is only one imaginary enemy strong enough: himself.

Jordan and Pippen both went to the Olympics, which made Klaus very unhappy. Klaus felt that they should rest at home and prepare for next season.However, the changes that took place in Barcelona with Jordan and Pippen made Phil Jackson very happy.This change also had a major impact on the future of the Chicago Bulls.

What changes?
After returning from the Olympics, Jordan praised Pippen's performance, and his recognition of Pippen reached an unprecedented level.Before the Barcelona Olympics, Jordan only regarded Pippen as the most talented helper around him. However, after he saw Pippen playing better than Stockton, Drexler and even Magician, Jordan realized It turns out that Pippen has become the most versatile player on the Dream Team, and certainly one of the best players of this era.

Pippen himself has also grown in confidence. In the 1992-1993 season, Pippen began to play a more important role in the Bulls. He did not have the name of the captain, but he was actually the captain.At that time, the NBA did not allow the team to appoint a third captain, but Jackson still gave Pippen the authority equivalent to the captain, and asked Pippen to assist Jordan and Cartwright in managing the team.

Playing next to Jordan is not necessarily an easy and pleasant thing. You have to adapt to the spotlight, and at the same time you have to accept the fact that you always live in Jordan's shadow.Pippen handled it well, and he understood that the reality was that Jordan was a level above him.

Pippen's good friend Grant was different.Grant hated seeing Jordan in the franchise and expected the same level of popularity as Jordan.Grant didn't seem to understand that Jordan's special status was not determined by Jackson and the management, but by God, by Jordan's own talents and abilities. On the first day of the Bulls' training camp in the 1992-1993 season, Grant's dissatisfaction with Jordan exploded.

Jackson's training camp has a traditional program called "Indian Run."In this training, the players run circles around the court, and every time the coach blows the whistle, the person who falls behind in the team will speed up and run to the front, and so on.The actual experience of this workout is far more grueling than it sounds, with every player involved jogging, sprinting, jogging, sprinting.

Since Jordan and Pippen went to the Olympics during the offseason, they were seriously lacking in rest and were very tired. Jackson was considerate of them and allowed them to practice once a day on the first Monday instead of twice a day like other players. Do not participate in Indian Run.Unexpectedly, Grant was unhappy. He believed that Jackson implemented double standards, and he himself should enjoy the same treatment as Jordan and Pippen.On the "Indian Run" on the first day of the training camp, Grant suddenly went into a rage. He couldn't accept the fact that Jordan and Pippen were watching from the sidelines, and he had to suffer with others, so he left the training ground.Jackson chased him to the locker room to talk him out and calm him down, but anyway, it was a bad sign.

Jordan remembered Grant's tantrum, saying later: "In 1992, from the moment training camp started, I knew we were missing something. The team wasn't tight enough anymore, and Horace Grant was the first A man who broke that unity."

Grant's "disunity" basically points to Jordan.According to Jordan later revealed in his autobiography: "Some people started blowing in Horace's ears. He was a follower, not a leader, but Horace listened to those people telling him how good he was and how I was." Enjoy the privilege, how and how to get special attention. My relationship with Horace is never the same as it used to be. Created divisions in the team. Some things, I said in private, or on the team bus, were leaked to the media. Since then, the atmosphere in the team has become tense. We are not friends anymore. On the court, we went our separate ways, but on the sidelines, the rapport Phil had created disintegrated. I could see some people whispering to some reporter, and the next day there would be a quote from an anonymous source. slang. I know who said what, and so do the rest of the team, how are you going to play with someone you're afraid to talk to in private? I think I'm past the age for these childish things, I I don’t want to have to deal with things like this again.”

Grant's various actions are the epitome of discord within the Bulls.Now, those dissonances are starting to hurt the team.In fact, in the late 80s, some internal conflicts existed all the time, but they were covered up by the team's atmosphere of continuous improvement and improvement.By 1992, the Bulls were so successful and famous that the lights on them began to slowly expose those internal divisions, and the problems became public.

In the 1992-1993 season, the Bulls' journey was much more difficult than the previous two years.Paxson had limited playing time due to knee surgery, and Jackson moved BJ Armstrong to the starting lineup.During the regular season, Paxson and Cartwright missed about 20 games each due to injuries, and Jordan, Grant, and Pippen also had sporadic injuries.Both the coaching staff and the trainers noticed that the team was tired, both physically and mentally.Jackson later said their worst enemy this season was boredom.

Jordan is always overdrawing his body, but the reason why Jordan is Jordan is because he has a spiritual strength that is different from ordinary people. He knows how to motivate himself mentally and motivate his teammates around him.

From the end of January to the beginning of February 1993, the Bulls had a long and arduous road trip to the Western Conference.In the away game, they sometimes leave overnight after the game. Sometimes the players have to go out for a few drinks. It is late, and they will fly to the next city the next morning.If Jackson thought everyone needed a break, he would cancel a day of practice.

Arriving in Denver this time, the Bulls had lost three of their past four games and were exhausted.For some reason, Jackson did not cancel training that morning.The bosses of the players came to the arena reluctantly, complaining about the training, and their emotions were very negative.Grant murmured incessantly, as did Pippen and Armstrong.The trainer was binding Jordan's feet, and Jordan sat there, listening to everyone's complaints, and didn't say anything.After tying his feet, Jordan put on his sneakers, tied the laces, sat up, and said loudly, "Let's go, millionaires."

In a simple sentence, Jordan said all that should be said-yes, we have had a hard time, we are very tired and hard, but no one has lost money; we have just lost several games, it is time to work hard .

Even Grant admits: "For Michael, it was always about the spirit."

In the 1992-1993 season, the Bulls won 10 fewer games in the regular season than the previous year, with 57 wins and 25 losses, not only inferior to the Suns with 62 wins in the West, but also behind the Knicks in the East with 60 wins.This made the Bulls have no home court advantage in the Eastern Conference Finals and Finals.

In the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Bulls swept the seventh-ranked Atlanta Hawks and the third-ranked Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, and easily advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.Among them, in the fourth game against the Cavaliers in the second round, the two sides were tied in the last 18.5 seconds. Jordan received the ball about 8 seconds before the end of the game. A fadeaway jumper hit and the ball went into the bell.This lore was completed in Cleveland again, and Jordan stabbed the heart of Cleveland again. This ball was named "The Shot II", which is the sequel to "The Shot (The Shot)" in 1989.

In the Eastern Conference finals, the Bulls met the Knicks again.In the previous year's playoffs, the two teams had fought seven games, and the Bulls won it easily.But this time, the home court advantage is in the hands of the Knicks, and the Bulls are in a more dangerous situation.After the first two games, the Knicks won all, and the Bulls fell behind 0 to 2, and the hole was a bit big.

47.3 seconds before the end of the second game, Knicks guard John Starks (John Starks) broke into the penalty area from the right, and made an earth-shattering left-handed dunk on Grant and Jordan who were defending, widening the point difference to 5 points.After the game, Knicks coach Riley called the ball an "exclamation point."

What is even more amazing is that that week, the New York Times columnist Dave Anderson (Dave Anderson) was the first to break the news, saying that the night before the second game of the Eastern Conference finals, Jordan did not rest in the hotel to prepare for the game, but ran In Atlantic City, New Jersey, after midnight at the casino, where he was seen at 02:30 in the morning.It is said that Jordan lost $5000 that night.

The gambling turmoil became the biggest scandal of Jordan's career.Although he scored 36 points in the second game, he shot less than 40% from the field. Obviously, he was responsible for the Bulls' unfavorable situation.In those few days, the New York media made a lot of noise about this matter.After the Bulls returned to Chicago, reporters flocked to the practice facility, asking for details about Jordan's gambling habits.Jordan was very disgusted and kept silent to the outside world in a rage.

Jackson supported Jordan externally. He said: "We don't need a curfew. These are adults. You have to have other things to do in your life, otherwise the pressure will be too great." Nevertheless, no one can say that the Bulls [-] Is the hope of consecutive championships ruined in the casinos of Atlantic City?

Not long after this incident, a businessman named Richard Esquinas (Richard Esquinas) published a book in which he claimed that he and Jordan played golf bets, and Jordan owed him $125 million.Jordan denied that he lost that much money to Esquinas, but he later reportedly agreed to pay Esquinas $30.In addition, there have been other reports that Jordan was extorted of large sums of money by suspected golf scammers.When similar reports escalated, James Jordan came forward to defend his son, saying: "Michael doesn't have a gambling problem, he has a competitive problem."

The Bulls, who fell into a passive position in the Eastern Conference finals, needed Jordan's competitive spirit.In the third game in Chicago, Jordan made only 18 of 3 shots, but still scored 22 points, sent 11 assists and grabbed 8 rebounds with free throws to help the Bulls win 103-83.In the fourth game, Jordan finally broke out—this series, he really broke out for the first time—scored 17 points in the first quarter, 10 points in the second quarter, and scored 2 of the Bulls' 4 points in the third quarter. In the game, he scored 18 points with a high shooting rate of 6%, and made 0 of 54 shots from beyond the three-point line.Starks had to admit: "He completely exploded me." This is the sixth time in Jordan's career that he scored 9 points in a single playoff game.The Bulls defended the home court 6 to 50, equalized the total score, and temporarily climbed out of the pit.

However, to keep their hopes of a three-peat alive, the Bulls must beat the Knicks in New York.No one has lost at home in the first four games of this series.

On June 1993, 6, the fifth game of the Eastern Conference finals, the battle of Tianwangshan.Celebrities gathered at Madison Square Garden, and the home audience booed Jordan since the warm-up before the game, but what they waited for was Jordan's overall performance of 2 points, 29 assists, and 14 rebounds.In this life-and-death game, Jordan sent his second career playoff triple-double.

After missing two shots in the opening game, Jordan devoted himself to creating opportunities for his teammates. The other four main players of the Bulls scored repeatedly, and Pippen made all of the first five shots. "He asked me to take more responsibility up front," Pippen revealed, "He will try to make a difference in the second half."

Jordan's hand style was indeed not smooth, but his strategy helped his teammates build confidence and distracted the opponent's defensive attention.After two-thirds of the third quarter, Jordan scored 12 points, made 14 of 4 shots, but sent 12 assists.About 4 minutes before the end of the quarter, Knicks guard Doc Rivers put his knee on Jordan's chest during the drive, and Jordan lay on the floor for a while in pain.Unexpectedly, this small accident became a turning point, and it was time for Jordan to score and dominate the game himself.

Since then, Jordan has scored 17 straight points for the Bulls, including the final seven of the third quarter and the first 7 of the fourth.This period of Jordan's personal scoring climax lasted for about a full quarter. He made 10 of 9 shots and 7 of 5 free throws from the free throw line.It is difficult for one person to score 3 points in a row even against the weakest opponent in the regular season, but Jordan did it in the battle of Tianwangshan in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The decisive goal in this campaign was not Jordan's shot, but a group of collective defense.In the last ten seconds, the Knicks were only 94 to 95 behind, the ball was in their hands, and there was great hope of winning.Ewing passed the ball to 6-foot-10 forward Charles Smith. Smith twisted and got a shot at the basket, but Grant interfered and released the ball.Smith got the ball again, got up to shoot again, this time it was Jordan who rushed over and slapped the racket off.Miraculously, the ball was still in Smith's hands, and when it rose again, it was blocked by Pippen behind him.The last time Smith came again, he was still covered by Pippen.

Charles Smith, four consecutive waves of attacks at the basket, were all blocked by the Bulls.Riley is used to seeing big scenes, and this time he was a little confused. He said: "My eyes are full of waving palms and arms."

In the chaos, Grant caught the rebound and handed it to Jordan, who sent the ball to the frontcourt from the encirclement of the other three. Armstrong made a layup at the last second, and the score was locked at 97-94.In this way, the Bulls conquered Tianwang Mountain in a thrilling and dangerous manner, and the total score was overtaken.Jordan bounced back to the locker room, leaving the depression to the New Yorkers.

Jordan still refused to speak to the media after the game, but New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica contributed a quip.Lupica wrote: "As you can imagine, early on Thursday (the second day of the game), Smith went back to the garden, went back to the position under the basket, and he was alone, trying to throw the ball in, Jordan and Pisces. Pun will still pop out of nowhere and block him again."

The result of Game 96 hurt New York's morale.In Game 88 and then to Chicago, the Bulls didn't let the opportunity slip away. They won 4-2, thereby beating the Knicks with a total score of [-]-[-] and returning to the Finals for the third consecutive year.

The Knicks' defense was the biggest obstacle Jordan encountered in the NBA playoffs in 1992 and 1993. In the six games of the Eastern Conference Finals in 1993, Jordan averaged 32.2 points, 7 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game, but his shooting percentage was only 40%.

The Phoenix Suns didn't have New York's solid defense, but they had the best offense in the league and—as Barkley later said during the Finals—they seemed destined, with God's favor and blessing.

(End of this chapter)