NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 47 Domineering (2)

In June 1992, the Suns acquired Barkley from the 6ers in a three-for-one trade, a deal that transformed them completely.Previously, the Suns were also able to run, shoot, and attack, but they never had a reliable inside axis. They couldn't make it out of the West in the playoffs, and lacked real top-level competitiveness.After Barkley joined, the Suns' fast-paced, high-scoring style was preserved, but the lineup structure tended to be balanced. In the 76-1992 season, Barkley became the tactical core of Phoenix. He averaged 1993 points, 25.6 rebounds, and 12.2 assists per game. He led the team to a league-best record of 5.1 wins and 62 losses in the regular season. Won Jordan's three consecutive MVP championships.

Of course, what is fateful is not just the smooth sailing of the regular season.In the first round of the playoffs, facing the declining Lakers without the Magician, the Suns actually lost two home games and fell behind 0-2 with a total score. But then, they withstood the tremendous pressure, conquered two away games in a row, and finally went through overtime in the fifth life-and-death battle, 112 to 104 narrow escape.In the second round against the Spurs, the Suns advanced steadily with a total score of 4 to 2. However, in the last game, Barkley also relied on Barkley's mid-range hit with 1.8 seconds before the end to win the thrilling victory.The Western Conference Finals encountered the Supersonics, and the Suns were forced to tiebreaker, thanks to Barkley's 44 points and 24 rebounds in the life-and-death battle.Along the way, the Phoenix people have been in desperate situations time and time again, but they can always turn danger into good luck, which inevitably makes people feel "destined".

Does 1993 really belong to Phoenix?God really became a Suns fan?Jordan didn't agree.

Before the finals started, Jackson emphasized to the players: The first two games are in Phoenix, we must steal the next game, which is very important.Jordan replied: Instead of winning one game, we will win two games.As Jordan said, the Suns lost the first two home games and dug themselves a huge pit of despair.

Playing against the Suns, Jordan had a special pleasure -- playing against Dan Marley.Marley is a white guard, but he can fly and dunk like a black man, and he can shoot three-pointers well, so he was nicknamed "Thunder Dan". In the 1992-1993 season, Marley averaged 16.9 points per game, second only to Barkley in the Suns, and participated in the All-Star Game with Barkley in February.In fact, Marley himself did not provoke Jordan, but like Barcelona's Kukoc, in Jordan's eyes, Marley is Klaus' clone, and opposing Marley is opposing Klaus, and Jordan enjoys it.

Krause has always liked Marley very much. He wanted to pick Marley in the 1988 draft. In the end, he chose center Perdue because he was worried about Cartwright's health.After Marley joined the Suns, Klaus frequently mentioned his name, praised him for being such a comprehensive and excellent player, and even compared him with Jerry Sloan—Jazz head coach Sloan played for the Bulls when he was young. He is one of Krause's favorite NBA players.Krause praised Marley to the sky, which made Jordan very disgusted. Soon everyone found that as long as Marley was on the court, Jordan played very hard and played very well.Suns assistant coach Lionel Hollins (Lionel Hollins) didn't know that the relationship between Jordan and Krause was incompatible, let alone that Jordan would vent his anger on Marley. Seeing how Jordan targeted Marley on the court, Hollins I thought the two had some kind of enmity in private.Every time Jordan got the ball, he seemed determined to pass Marley, making Marley look like he couldn't defend at all.Hollins has a feeling: this kind of deep hatred simply surpasses the outcome of the game.

In the second game of the finals, Jordan scored a large quasi-triple-double with 42 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists. The Bulls returned to Chicago with a total score of 2 to 0, and the championship situation was very good.According to the arrangement of the 2-3-2 finals, the next three games will be held at the Chicago Stadium. The Bulls obviously intend to resolve the battle at home and do not want to go to Phoenix.

In the third game, Jordan scored another 44 points, but his hands were not as hot as the first two games, because the 44 points were the result of three overtimes in the battle between the two sides, and Jordan took as many as 43 shots.After the game, Barkley saw the technical statistics paper and exclaimed: "Hey, Michael Jordan shot 43 baskets. He has to ice his elbow." Below, Jordan made only 10 of 1 shots.

The two sides fought hard, like running a marathon.Suns point guard Kevin Johnson (Kevin Johnson) played a full 62 minutes, and Jordan also played 57 minutes. The Suns finally won 129 to 121, escaping the desperation of a total score of 0 to 3.

Jordan made 43 of 19 shots in this campaign, and Kevin Johnson boasted that he found a way to limit Jordan's first step.Kevin Johnson should regret it, because after three days, Jordan was fully fired, leaving the entire Suns with nothing to do.

The seventh classic battle of Jordan's career

Game 1993 of the [-] NBA Finals
Time: March 1993, 6

Where: Chicago Coliseum

Score: Bulls 111: 105 Suns
Barkley stretched his arms straight, trying to block Jordan's crucial final blow.However, Barkley also knew in his heart that Jordan was unstoppable on this day.

On June 1993, 6, Jordan in Game 16 of the NBA Finals was unstoppable.

Jordan hit Barkley head-on in the air, a little off balance, and saw him pull the ball up from his waist and push it toward the basket with his right hand before it hit the ground.This is an extremely irregular shooting action, but the ball seems to have eyes, unbiased, and goes straight to the center of the net.At the same time, the whistle sounded and the referee called Barkley for a defensive foul.

Jordan clenched his hands into fists and raised his head above his head, while Barkley knelt on the floor in frustration.Jordan made a free throw and scored his 55th point in the game, tying Rick Barry in 1967 and becoming the second highest scoring player in a single game in the history of the NBA Finals.The record is held by Elgin Baylor, who scored 1962 points in Game 61 of the [-] Finals.

乔丹这一战37投21中，命中率达到56.8%。他在巴克利身上打成的那记“2+1”，是本场实质上的制胜球。

The scariest Jordan of the day came in the second quarter.At the beginning of that quarter, Marley defended Jordan.Marley is taller, but his speed is slow, so Jordan made a crazy breakthrough, either scoring the ball or making a foul to the free throw line.After Jordan scored 10 points in a row, the Suns were forced to use Kevin Johnson as the main defense.Kevin Johnson is fast, but not tall enough, Jordan began to unreasonably pull up jumpers continuously, bullying Kevin Johnson out of reach.Over half a quarter, the Bulls scored all 16 points by Jordan.Jordan made 12 of 9 shots in the entire quarter and scored 22 points.

In the first game of the 1992 Finals, Jordan scored 6 three-pointers in the first two quarters and scored 35 points, setting an NBA Finals halftime scoring record.A year later, in Game 1993 of the 33 Finals, Jordan also scored 35 points in the first half, only one goal away from the record of [-] points.

39.4 seconds before the end, the Bulls led by two points, the Suns had the ball, and there was still plenty of time.However, the Chicagoans successfully defended twice in a row and took the initiative back.First, Pippen interfered with Barkley receiving the ball. Although he didn't break the ball, he disrupted the Suns' offensive rhythm. Then the Suns sent a sideline ball. to Armstrong.

In the last 20 seconds, Jordan held the ball at the top of the arc, Kevin Johnson and Danny Ainge stepped forward to pinch, Jordan passed the ball to Armstrong, and Armstrong passed back to Jordan.Kevin Johnson approached Jordan again, but Jordan caught a fleeting opportunity to start.Jordan dribbled the ball with his left hand, lunged past Kevin Johnson, then flicked Ainge around the free throw line and headed into the lane.It was too late for Barkley to defend from the bottom line. Before his feet were firmly established, Jordan was in front of him, followed by the "2+1" that sealed the victory.

Jordan left 13.3 seconds for the Suns, but at this time the point difference had reached 5 points, and the Suns were unable to recover.After the game, Suns coach Paul Westphal (Paul Westphal) said: "I think even Michael himself can't stop Michael. When defending Michael Jordan, it is very important to acknowledge the reality. You can do The thing is to try to make Michael work hard for the shot."

But Jordan didn't seem to find it hard, saying, "I didn't really feel like I was taking over the game. I felt like I was just breaking through, trying to get easier shots, and I felt like I was taking advantage of the defense. It was just step by step, and then I just found myself more or less finding my rhythm. I was a little uneasy about that because I didn’t want my teammates to stand still and just watch me play.”

(End of this chapter)