NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 55 Unprecedented and unprecedented (4)

Before the first game of the finals, Princess Diana of the United Kingdom came to Chicago to participate in a medical charity donation event, which made the local people very entangled: should they go to the Field Museum of Natural History to have dinner with the princess, or should they go to Chicago? How about going to the United Center to watch Jordan play in the Finals?Even Jordan's mother, Delores, was troubled by the conflicting timing of the two events.Delores loved Princess Diana, but how could she not go to her son's big game?In the end, Delores decided to put on her evening gown to go to the dinner first, and then changed to the arena to cheer her son on."I knew Michael wanted me to be there," Delores said.

The Sonics also valued Michael.How to limit Jordan is a major issue in their finals.A reporter asked Jordan: Can you still fly like you did back then?Jordan replied: "Whether I can still fly, I don't know. I haven't been able to try, because defense is no longer one-on-one. But honestly, I may not be able to do it...I like it, I don't know if I can do it." because then I still feel like I can. As long as I believe I can do something, nothing else matters."

During the playoffs, Sonics head coach George Karl hired a new assistant, Brendan Malone.Malone was coaching the new Toronto Raptors this season, and the Raptors couldn't make it to the playoffs, so Karl asked him to help investigate the situation of the Bulls during the playoffs.Malone once worked as an assistant coach in Detroit and participated in the implementation and improvement of the "Jordan Rules". The Sonics hope that his perspective can help them find ways to limit Jordan.Malone's advice: "You have to match them as much as possible in intensity, don't think about any tactics. They will try to kill you from the first quarter."

In the first round of the Finals, Karl sent 6-foot-9 (2.06 meters) German forward Detlef Schrempf to guard Jordan. Jordan got the ball in the low post and guard Hersey Hawking Hersey Hawkins immediately stepped forward to double-team, Jordan did not force the shot, but assisted Harper to hit an open three-pointer.In this way, the Sonics tried their best not to keep the ball in Jordan's hands, and Longley, Pippen, and Harper all seized the opportunity and scored a lot of points.

After the first three quarters, the Bulls led by only two points. In the last quarter, Kukoc stepped forward.Previously due to injuries, Kukoc performed mediocre throughout the playoffs and rarely showed the demeanor of the best sixth man. This time, he scored 5 points in a row in the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter, including two consecutive offensive rounds. , scored two three-pointers in a row, and the second one caused a foul by the opponent, making it a rare "3+1" in the history of the finals.Kukoc said after the game: "I was waiting for such a good game to come. I thought, I should go to the court and play someone alone instead of looking forward to my three-pointer. I did that, Then I took two [-]-pointers, made them, and that opened up the game."

After Kukoc broke out, it was Jordan's rule.In the last two and a half minutes, Jordan scored 6 points to seal the victory for the Bulls. The Bulls got off to a good start in the finals 107-90. Jordan scored a team-high 28 points. Peng, Kukoc, Harper and Longley all scored in double figures.

The Sonics' loss wasn't just a game.Their third guard, Nate McMillan, was injured during the game, forcing Payton to carry the playmaking load alone for most of the remainder of the Finals.

In addition, there is an episode in the first battle.While Rodman was fighting for rebounds, he got entangled with SuperSonics backup insider Frank Brickowski. Rodman played a trick and caused Brickowski to get a flagrant foul. A technical foul was added on Brikowski and Brikowski was ejected.Coach Carl was very angry. Before the second game, he said in front of the media: "Dennis Rodman is contemptuous of basketball. Given what he did, it is stupid to give him any praise." Rodman responded : "A lot of people don't give me enough credit as an adult. Yesterday was a perfect example of me being in control."

Next, Rodman prepared a louder, more brutal response for Karl.In the second game, Rodman grabbed 20 rebounds, including 11 offensive rebounds, tying the personal single-game offensive rebound record in the history of the NBA Finals.Supported by his scrambling, the Bulls overcame a low shooting percentage of 39% and won again 92-88.Karl had to praise Rodman: "He is an amazing rebounder. Tonight, he may be their MVP."

Jordan scored 29 points and 8 assists in Game 40, but shot just over 32 percent from the field.In the first two games of the Finals, Supersonic power forward Shawn Kemp scored 61 points in only 40 shots, which was more efficient than Jordan, who scored 57 points in [-] shots.

After the second game on Friday, the Sonics flew back to Seattle overnight, while the Bulls went home and had a good night's sleep. They took their time to catch the plane during the day on Saturday, and the third game was scheduled for Sunday.The legendary coach John Wooden once said that an important part of pre-game preparation is to sleep well two nights before a big game. The reason is: no one can sleep well the night before a big game.

Judging from the results, Coach Wooden is really wise and prescient.In Game 34 between the Bulls and the Sonics, at Seattle's Key Arena, Jackson found himself far more energetic than his opponent.Although Harper was injured in the previous game and basically truce, Kukoc replaced him and started with more firepower.The Bulls got off to a 12-24 start, took a 108-point halftime lead, and ended up winning 86-27.Jordan launched a fierce attack in the first two quarters, scoring 23 points, and scored 11 points on 36 of [-] shots.

With a total score of 3 to 0, the Bulls are within reach of the championship trophy.In the history of the NBA playoffs, no team has ever been able to come back from a 0-3 deficit, and the SuperSonics are facing the best team in NBA history. To the killer's eye." Jack Ramsay, the 71-year-old former Trail Blazers championship coach, said the Bulls have the kind of defense that "stops time."

In the fourth game, the Bulls may be crowned, and they have champagne in the locker room.However, Karl didn't intend to be caught without a fight, at least not reconciled to being swept away like this.The Sonics have been weak offensively in the first few games. Karl decided to abandon defensive center Owen Johnson (Ervin Johnson) and push Brikowski into the starting lineup.He later admitted: "If I have any regrets about that series, it's that I didn't put Brick (Brickowski) on it sooner. He pulled us through all season."

Perhaps the more important change is that McMillan is finally able to play with back pain for a while. "Nate was on the floor and we played really well," Carr said. "He wasn't the best player on the floor, but he was the glue. No matter what we did, Nate knew how to make it happen." Gary Payton A great point guard, but Nate is the real point guard on this team."

In Game 21, the Sonics beat the Bulls by 11 points.In the fifth game, the Sonics won another 2 points, including only 3 points for Jordan in the fourth quarter.From 0 to 3 to 2 to [-], the Bulls suddenly became less perfect, and it seemed that they were not invincible.Obviously, with Game [-] back in Chicago, they're going to make a change.

On June 6, Father's Day, the Bulls and the Sonics launched a defensive battle.For the Bulls, Harper, who played and didn't play in the previous three games, played 16 minutes, defending Payton and liberating Jordan.Jordan freed up his hands to defend against the shooter Hawkins. Although Jordan himself made only 38 of 19 shots that day, Hawkins, who averaged 5 points in the previous four games, was also defended by him and scored only 16.8 points.Kemp was in good shape, but it was difficult for the Sonics to get him to catch the ball in the paint. McMillan was good at it, but only played 4 minutes.

This kind of low-scoring game is very suitable for the person who is the worst scorer on the court-Rodman.Like the second game, Rodman grabbed 11 offensive rebounds again, adding up to 19 front and rear rebounds.Schlempf said with emotion that the match between Jordan and Rodman was really wonderful because "you spent a lot of energy trying to contain the best player in history, but Rodman, with his toughness, took care of it." took advantage of this."

The Bulls won 87-75 to win the championship with a 4-2 aggregate victory over the Sonics.After the game, the rest of the Bulls stayed on the court to celebrate, but Jordan returned to the locker room with the game ball, lay on the floor and cried bitterly.Jordan said that winning the championship on Father's Day is his tribute and condolences to his father.

In the six finals, Jordan averaged 27.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game, and was elected Finals MVP for the fourth time.In this way, for the first time in his career, he won the championship, finals MVP, annual MVP and All-Star Game MVP in the same season, achieving a grand slam of personal achievements in the season.

After the Supersonics lost the championship, Karl has full respect for the Bulls. He believes that the Bulls' psychological toughness is difficult for other teams to match.Carr said that the Bulls know very well when to raise their defensive intensity. They will find out your weaknesses and beat them mercilessly. This extraordinary strength comes not only from outstanding talent, but also from a strong psychology.

Carl was right.The Bulls team, or Jordan himself, is constantly realizing self-revolution and sublimation while hitting the championship and winning the championship.

In the beginning, Jordan didn't have good teammates around him, and the Bulls were still able to shock the world, mainly because of Jordan's athletic talent.Jordan has won many personal honors, but he has also tasted enough of the pain of failure.

Then, more and more outstanding players gathered around Jordan, and Jordan and the Bulls entered the second stage.Jordan learned how to win, how to win the championship, from an excellent loser to an excellent winner.At this stage, Jordan's personal talent is still unmatched. He can still perform too many actions on the court that others cannot. At the same time, the talents of Pippen, Grant and other teammates are also obvious.

Then, Jordan retired and came back, returned to the basketball court from the baseball field, and he and the Bulls entered the third stage.From the 1995-1996 season to the later 1997-1998 season, Jordan began to age, his physical fitness and motor function began to degenerate, and some things he could do when he was young, he could no longer do it. But during this period, he The mind and will become stronger than ever before.At this stage, the charm of Jordan and the charm of the Chicago Bulls are increasingly reflected in the spiritual level.

1995-1996 season
Regular season: 82 games, 30.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.2 steals, shooting 49.5%
Playoffs: 18 games, 30.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.8 steals, 45.9% shooting
Finals: 6 games, 27.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 steals, 41.5% shooting
NBA championship

NBA Finals MVP
NBA MVP of the Year
NBA All-NBA First Team

NBA Defensive First Team of the Year

NBA scoring champion

NBA All-Star Game MVP
(End of this chapter)