NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 48 Domineering (3)

Westphal had another remark that sounded like a total defeat. "I'm in awe of Michael Jordan as much as anybody else," Westphal said. "He's the best offensive point guard ever, the best defensive point guard, the best offensive shooting guard ever And the best defensive shooting guard, the best offensive small forward and the best defensive small forward, and he's probably also in the top five at power forward and center."

Leading 3-1 overall, the Bulls got the Finals match point, and Chicago was ready to celebrate the championship.However, the Suns will never really lose until the finals are completely over.In the fifth game, they double-teamed Jordan more frequently. Even if Jordan scored another 41 points, the Bulls couldn't resist the opponent's fierce offensive.The Suns, in their last stand, played extremely aggressively. They beat the Bulls by 10 rebounds. Barkley, Kevin Johnson and starting small forward Richard Dumas scored 20 points, of which Dumas scored 14 points. Mars scored 12 points on 25-of-108 shooting.The Suns won 98-[-], bringing title hopes back to Phoenix.

At the end of the game, Barkley said in front of the TV cameras: "I believe that winning the championship is our destiny ... We don't care if we are 1-3 behind. God wants us to win the championship. I talked to him the other night. "

The Suns flew back to Phoenix that night.At 02:30 in the morning, thousands of local fans greeted the team at the airport, many of whom played the slogan "Team of Destiny" (Team of Destiny) to express their loyalty and trust.

As a head coach, Westphal did not make too much fuss about the word "fate", he said more practically: "I believe we are the best team, and if we are, then we should To win two at home ... if we don't win two, we don't deserve to be champions."

In fact, there is no need for the Suns generals to show their determination. The Bulls lost two of their three home games, and their emotions have fallen to the bottom.They still lead the total score, but the remaining two games are all played on the other side's territory, and no one knows what will happen.The Bulls had to pack up and go to Phoenix.Everyone was listless when they boarded the plane. "It was really like a morgue," recalls longtime radio anchor Johnny Kerr. "They had the opportunity to settle the fight at home and let it slip away. A team that lost two games, that's not like them at all."

In this space filled with the breath of death, a ray of sunlight suddenly came in—Jordan boarded the plane.

Jordan wears a pair of sunglasses, a fancy hat, an even flashier sports shirt, and a giant cigar dangling from his mouth.This way, it doesn't look like going to a fierce battle, but rather like attending a celebration party.He greeted everyone very ostentatiously: "Hello, world champions, let's go to Phoenix to clean them up!"

The cigar in his mouth was not lit. Someone asked: "What is this cigar for?" Jordan replied: "This is my victory cigar." The implication is that it is used to celebrate winning the championship.

The atmosphere on the plane changed instantly, and it was no longer lifeless.Jordan's dress, speech, and behavior are like injecting a quick-acting stimulant into his comrades.Everyone got hints: We are going to win the championship this trip, what are we depressed about?
Only the insiders of the team saw this scene.Until many years later, it is still the Bulls owner Reinsdorf's favorite "Jordan moment", and it is a beautiful memory that he treasures deep in his heart.Jordan's innate leadership and charisma cannot be learned by others.

In Game 37 at the Phoenix West Arena, the Bulls were more focused than they were at the Chicago Coliseum two days earlier.They scored 8 points in the first quarter, and the outside three-pointers were blooming everywhere. After three quarters, they had an 12-point advantage.But in the last quarter, the Suns' defense suddenly made the Bulls at a loss. By the time Jordan scored the first point of the quarter with a free throw, the Bulls' advantage had disappeared.Throughout the fourth quarter, the Bulls only scored 9 points, [-] of which were contributed by Jordan.In the last five and a half minutes, Jordan was basically scoring with the Suns alone.

45 seconds before the end, the Bulls were still trailing 94-98. Jordan grabbed the defensive rebound, dribbled forward, and took advantage of the Sun's defensive foothold to make a one-stop layup.There is no extra action, just a routine, using the simplest three-step layup to catch up to two points.

The Suns attacked, and Marly missed a shot from the bottom corner.14.4 seconds before the end, Pippen got the rebound and called a timeout.The American West arena was too noisy. Jackson had to yell loudly in order to let the players hear his voice clearly when he arranged the last ball tactics on the sidelines.He called everyone together and said seriously, "Let's not hit MJ." Some looked up at him, thinking the coach was crazy, but immediately they realized that Jackson was serious.

Sure enough, on the last attack, Jordan passed the ball to Pippen without passing the center line.Pippen broke through, attracted the Suns three-team, and immediately distributed the ball to Grant on the baseline.Grant received the ball and saw that Angie had covered the defense in front of him, and without stopping, he sent the ball beyond the three-point line.

Paxson stood there, and there were no defenders within a few meters.Like in practice, Paxson catches the ball, takes aim, releases it, and makes it."As soon as Paxon got the ball, I knew it was over," Jordan said.

99 to 98, the Bulls overtook.For others, this is a goal that determines the championship, and it is extremely important, but for Paxson, this is the simplest and most common thing. "I just catch the ball and throw it out like I've always done," Paxson said. I don't have to think, it's a reflex."

Paxson hit a three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left.The Suns made the final blow. Kevin Johnson broke through with the ball and jumped up from near the free throw line to shoot, but was blocked by Grant leaning sideways.

When the final whistle blew, the American West Arena became a stage for the visiting team to celebrate.Jordan rushed to the basket, got the game ball in his hands, and held it high above his head.Just when others thought he was going to say some fantastic speech, Jordan yelled: "'Thunder Dan' Marley, fuck you!"

In the last battle, Jordan scored 33 points, failing to continue the ferocious momentum of scoring 40 points in the previous four consecutive games.However, without his 9 points in the final quarter, the Bulls would not have been able to wait for Paxson's final three-pointer.In the six finals, Jordan scored 31, 42, 44, 55, 41, and 33 points in sequence, for a total of 246 points, averaging 41 points per game, setting a record in NBA Finals history.For the third year in a row, the Finals MVP was in Jordan's pocket.

It turns out that winning the championship is not the Sun's destiny, and the Bulls are the real "team of destiny".Many years later, Jordan said in his autobiography: "Playing against Phoenix and Charles Barkley in the 1993 Finals was like playing against your little brother. You know you are well-equipped. Seven times, your brother may beat you by one or two times, but you know he’s going to lose in the end. The Suns don’t know how to win — they know how to fight, but they don’t know how to win. There’s a difference.”

Since the Celtics completed eight consecutive championships in the mid-60s, no NBA team has won three consecutive championships. Now, the Chicago Bulls have achieved a rare hegemony in history and are destined to go down in history.After winning the three consecutive championships, Jordan said frankly: "Before this all started, I boasted that the three consecutive championships would be easy. After we won two championships, I felt that there was no pressure. (But in fact) this Much harder than anything I've ever done on a basketball court. This ball, this series, just shows how hard it is."

Jordan lit the victory cigar to reveal to people the source of his strength in pursuit of three consecutive championships. "The motivation is to beat Magic," he said. "Bird has never had three (in a row) either."

What Magic and Bird failed to do, Jordan did.Since joining the NBA in 1984, Jordan has always regarded catching up with and surpassing Magician and Bird as his goal, and after three consecutive championships, he "may" have surpassed them.

Jordan, in 1993, never dubbed himself the greatest player of all time in the NBA, but he wasn't afraid to affirm his franchise's place in history. "There's a lot of opinions on who the greatest team is," Jordan said. "You look at the Boston Celtics. They won 16 championships. Of course they're considered a great team. But, With so much talent in the league today, so evenly balanced, we definitely felt like we were going to be considered one of the greatest teams."

1992-1993 season
Regular season: 78 games, 32.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.8 steals, shooting 49.5%
Playoffs: 19 games, 35.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.1 steals, 47.5% shooting
Finals: 6 games, 41.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.7 steals, 50.8% shooting
NBA championship

NBA Finals MVP
NBA All-NBA First Team

NBA Defensive First Team of the Year

NBA scoring champion

NBA steals leader

NBA Finals single-series scoring average record (41.0 points, Finals vs. Suns)

Record of 40+ points in a row in the NBA Finals (4 games, the second to fifth games of the finals vs. the Suns)

The second highest scoring record in a single game in the NBA Finals (55 points, Game [-] of the Finals vs. the Suns)

(End of this chapter)