NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 56 I Am Legend (1)

In the eyes of outsiders, the Bulls' 1996-1997 season was almost a copy and paste of the previous year.The lineup has not changed, the style of play has not changed, and the results have not changed.The previous year, the Bulls had a record 72 wins in the regular season. This season, the 69 wins in the regular season are still tied with the Lakers in the 1971-1972 season and tied for second in history.In fact, if they cared, another 70-win run would be a no-brainer.

But is it really copy and paste?Is it really like the green water and light boats of the previous year?otherwise.

Phil Jackson noticed the change early on. He knew that after the unprecedented success of the 1995-1996 season, the internal motivation of the Bulls would inevitably weaken, and the resistance would definitely increase.

The most important change is that Rodman's enthusiasm for the game is fading.In his first year with the Bulls, Rodman needed to prove to everyone—to others and himself—that he could still play basketball and control his emotions.But after winning the championship and proving himself, Rodman began to get tired of the game and was attracted by other entertainment activities in the world of flowers.At this time, "Big Bug" has become a big star in the United States, and the media has created a lot of opportunities for him.He participated in the filming of the movie "Double Team" directed by Tsui Hark, playing the leading role in the film, and also opened a reality TV show called "Rodman World Tour" on MTV.It's getting harder and harder to get him to devote himself to playing basketball.

Another big change is that age is starting to be a burden on this team.Rodman is 35 years old, Jordan will be 1997 years old in February 2, Pippen and Harper are both over 34 years old, and injuries are entangled with them bit by bit. During the 30 offseason, both Longley and Harper underwent surgery, and their bodies needed time to recover; Pippen joined the U.S. Men’s Basketball Dream Team three in the summer and played in the Atlanta Olympics. Troubled by illness, but few top guards in the NBA have maintained their vitality after the age of 1996. Who knows when his body will drag him down?

For Jackson, what is gratifying is that this team has been successful, everyone continues to be together, the tacit understanding with each other has been further deepened, and there is still a strong synergy.

In the summer of 1996, nearly 1996 players in the league changed teams. The Bulls paid a high price to preserve the winning lineup. In the 1997-5800 season, the total salary of the Bulls team exceeded [-] million US dollars, setting a record high in NBA history, and the largest part, of course, was paid to Jordan.

Jordan renewed his contract with the Bulls for eight years in 1988. Although the price tag of 2500 million U.S. dollars for eight years was already high at that time, the income level of NBA players increased significantly in the 90s. Jordan’s annual salary has been surpassed by several second-tier stars. It is necessary to compensate Jordan a large sum of money in the subsequent contract.Falk proposed to Leinsdorf a two-year contract extension of 5000 million US dollars, but Leinsdorf was only willing to sign for one year, and in the end he offered Jordan a sky-high annual salary of 3000 million US dollars.A year later, when Jordan renewed his contract, Reinsdorf had to offer Jordan $3300 million, which added up to $6300 million in two years, far exceeding the 5000 million proposed by Falk.

Not only did Jordan renew his one-year short contract, but both Jackson and Rodman also received one-year short contracts. This means that this team that has achieved unprecedented success may fall apart at any time, and the tree will fall and the monkey will disperse.Jackson used this to motivate the players: This may be the last year of us together, so let's make it special.Jordan also held the same view. He told the media: "We will play every game like it is the last."

This season, the Bulls started the season with a 12-game winning streak, and the momentum was strong, but trouble soon came. In late November 1996, they had just swallowed their first loss of the season in Utah, and immediately got bad news in Los Angeles: Longley had an accident while surfing at the beach and dislocated his shoulder.The injury kept Longley sidelined for nearly two months.

The bigger trouble is still on that prickly head.Rodman committed old problems, challenged the referee, spouted, publicly insulted NBA Commissioner Stern and other league officials, the team punished him in December. On January 12, 1997, when the Bulls played the Minnesota Timberwolves in an away game, Rodman saved the baseline while fighting for rebounds with the young Kevin Garnett, and was tripped by the camera. He kicked a videographer in front of him hard, kicking that person's inner thigh.It was an extremely stupid move.Rodman later explained that he didn't want to hurt anyone, he just wanted to kick the annoying camera away, but anyway, the consequences were done. The NBA suspended Rodman for 1 games, including fines and deducted wages. Rodman's economic loss exceeded 15 million US dollars.

During Rodman's suspension, the Bulls' performance was not greatly affected, winning 11 of 9 games.However, both Jordan and Pippen began to lose patience with Rodman's misconduct.Pippen said: "I'm not sure if he can learn something from the suspension. I don't expect him to change anything, because if he changes, he won't be a big bug."

The teammates even slowly accepted this psychological hint: Without Rodman, we can also compete for the championship. "With Dennis, we can get better, we know that," Jordan said, "but without Dennis, we can survive, we also know that." A reporter asked Jordan: When Rodman comes back, what will you give him? What advice does he have?Jordan replied, "I'll let him keep his pants on the whole time."

Both Rodman and Longley returned to the lineup, and the Bulls played another period of good shots. It was not until late March that Rodman sprained his left knee joint that the situation took a turn for the worse again.Rodman missed the final 3 regular-season games, with the Bulls losing four of them.

Ultimately, Rodman is indispensable.For the season, the Bulls were 48-7 when Rodman played and 21-6 when Rodman was absent.Without Rodman, the Bulls are still an excellent team, but the defense must be very dedicated to fight tough battles. When encountering opponents with both speed and strength inside, they will often have trouble.With Rodman, the Bulls averaged about 47 rebounds per game, including about 17 offensive rebounds; without Rodman, the Bulls averaged only 42 rebounds per game, and only about 13 offensive rebounds.

Rodman's knee injury is just a microcosm of the Bulls' end-of-season injuries.Kukoc has suffered from inflammation and pain in his right foot since early March and has been unable to practice. He has played only 3 games in the last 26 regular season games.Substitute center Wennington ruptured his left Achilles tendon and was reimbursed for the season.By the time the playoffs came, neither Rodman nor Kukoc had fully recovered, and the Bulls' morale had fallen to the lowest point, lacking the cohesion they had before.In a long season, every team has its ups and downs, but the Bulls couldn't have come at a worse time.

The only good news: In early April, Krause signed a free agent in center Brian Williams (later renamed Bison Dele).Williams provided the Bulls with much-needed size and speed, becoming a key player in the 4 postseason team's rotation.

So many people on the team were injured and stopped. Fortunately, Jordan and Pippen played all 82 games. The Bulls still ranked first in the league with a record of 69 wins and 13 losses.Jordan averaged 29.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game this season, and was selected to the first team of the year's best team; Pippen averaged 20.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game, and was selected to the second team of the year's best team. During the All-Star Weekend in February, the NBA celebrated its 2th anniversary in Cleveland. Jordan and Pippen also entered the ranks of the official selection of the top 50 superstars in history.In this All-Star Game, Jordan scored 5 points, grabbed 0 rebounds, sent 14 assists, and used a triple-double as a tribute to the league.

In the playoffs, it entered the countdown stage of Jordan's championship.In the first round, the Bulls swept the Washington Bullets 3-0.In the second round, the Bulls defeated the Atlanta Hawks 4-1.In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls beat the Miami Heat in 5 games.Along the way, Jordan created many wonderful moments: in the second game against the Bullets in the first round, Jordan made 35 of 22 shots and scored 55 points. In the fifth game of the second round against the Hawks, Jordan made an air cut along the baseline, received a Longley hit pass, and dunked the ball over the head of opposing center Dikembe Mutombo—Mutombo He is a top shot-blocker, and his signature action is to shake his finger at the opponent after blocking the opponent's shot, indicating "don't mess around in front of me", but this time, Mutombo didn't block Jordan, but let Jordan shake him finger.

The promotion process was very smooth, but the Eastern Conference finals left a hidden danger for the Bulls.In the last game, Pippen injured his left foot, which was not serious, which had a certain impact on his performance in the finals.Meanwhile, a knee injury still plagued Rodman.In this way, the finals have not yet started, and the difficulty for the Bulls to win the championship has increased, and it is impossible to win easily and happily like the first three rounds.

Of course, the more difficult the game is, the more it can reflect the personal value of a superstar.Because it was not easy, Jordan had the opportunity to turn the 1997 Finals into an epic series, allowing it to be spread, praised, and commemorated for many, many years.

During the regular season, the ultimate imaginary enemy set by the media for the Bulls has always been the Houston Rockets, which has brought together the three superstars of Olajuwon, Barkley, and Drexler, but in the end it was the Utah Jazz who emerged from the West.The Jazz is rooted in Salt Lake City, the holy land of Mormonism. It belongs to a small market team. For many years, it has been built with Karl Malone and John Stockton as the core of the team. , Repeatedly "accidental death".Until this season, the young players have grown collectively, veterans such as Malone, Stockton, and Jeff Hornacek (Jeff Hornacek) have received full support, and the team is strong and strong. The Jazz finally played the best in the Western Conference with 6+4 wins and 18 losses. In the Western Conference Finals, Stockton relied on a three-pointer at the buzzer to kill the Rockets, and the team entered the NBA Finals for the first time in history.

Like 1993, the 1997 finals had a strong "MVP duel" meaning.This season, "Postman" Malone averaged 27.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists and shot 55.0% from the field.In the annual MVP selection, Malone received 63 chief votes and 986 points, Jordan received 52 chief votes and 957 points, and Malone won by a narrow margin of 29 points.With Malone's performance and Jazz's performance, it is not surprising that he was elected MVP, but whether he is better or better than Jordan is controversial.The finals are the best place to resolve disputes.

Jordan's career classic battle nine

1997 NBA Finals Game [-]

Time: March 1997, 6

Where: United Center, Chicago

Score: Bulls 84:82 Jazz
9.2 seconds before the end of the game, Ma Long stood on the free throw line and the score was 82.Malone knew that as long as he scored those two free throws, the Jazz had a good chance of winning the Finals and stealing home-court advantage from the Bulls.

At this point, Pippen walked up to Malone and said, "Remember, the postman doesn't work on Sundays, Carl."

"The Postman" was Malone's nickname, and it happened to be Sunday.Pippen merely stated the USPS' facts, and Malone was put under a spell.Soon, the spell worked.Ma Long's first free throw bounced out of the basket, and the second free throw was about to be scored. The ball tapped lightly on the inner edge of the basket and fell out again.

Guess who got the rebound?It's Jordan.He held the ball firmly in his arms and called a timeout.The number on the timer is fixed at "7.5", which is the lore time Jordan left for himself.

After the timeout, Pippen sent the ball to Kukoc first, and Jordan ran out of the three-point line to catch the ball.Jazz head coach Sloan arranged for his men not to double-team in advance, and small forward Bryon Russell (Bryon Russell) could only face Jordan's offense alone. "I was surprised that Russell was the only guy guarding me," Jordan said. "Since they didn't double-team me, I just dribbled to the left, pulled up, shot, and that was it."

"We wanted to single him as much as possible. We probably made a mistake," Sloan admitted.

Jordan dribbled the ball once, twice, and three times. It was all a test. On the fourth dribble, the ball was handed over to his left hand.Russell rushed forward, his right hand reached out to fish for the ball, but nothing was caught.Jordan took a big step to the left, hit the racket for the fifth time, and jumped up. "I was looking for double-teams, but no one came," Jordan recalled. "I changed direction, (Russell) was going to steal, and I knew that a step to the left would get good vision."

Jordan took off at a 45-degree angle on the left, a small step in from the three-point line.Russell rushed over with all his strength, and the ball had been sent back by Jordan.

Russell felt like he had done all he had to do. "Jordan got the ball, time was ticking, he hit a great shot, and I had my hand in his face," Russell said. "He did what Michael Jordan is known for ... I kept him in the In front of me, he missed me. He took a jump shot and my hand was in his face."

The timer resets to zero, beep.The Nets made a clear and crisp sound, "Swipe".

The United Center exploded, and everyone raised their arms to welcome this hard-won victory.Pippen, Randy Brown, and Jud Buechler (Jud Buechler) rushed towards Jordan one after another, surrounding Jordan in the middle, while Malone and his teammates could only exit in this joyful atmosphere.

It was the consensus of all that the last ball was handed over to Jordan.Brian Williams joked that the Bulls' last-ball strategy was to "give the ball to Michael and get out of the way."Kerr admitted: "I just thought 'Give the ball to Michael,' and I don't think that's going to surprise anyone." Pippen said Jordan "did the ball to perfection."

Jordan himself knew that at that moment, the eyes of the whole world were on him.He said: "All the people watching this game in the arena and in front of the TV, knowing that you will get the ball, this is an incredible feeling." In the whole game, Jordan scored 31 points, 9 of which came from the end. five and a half minutes.

In fact, before Malone missed both free throws, Jordan also missed a free throw.That was 35.8 seconds before the end of the game. If Jordan made two free throws, the Bulls would have gained a one-point advantage early, but Jordan missed the second free throw.Fortunately, the final lore made everyone selectively forget Jordan's small mistakes, and Malone no longer had time to erase the stain of missing two free throws.

In this campaign, Malone scored 23 points and 15 rebounds. His performance was remarkable, but he was by no means the MVP of the day. What are MVPs? The MVP is the Most Valuable Player, the one who stands up at a critical moment to turn things around and win for the team. MVP also has to go to work on Sunday.After the lore goal was scored and before his teammates hugged him, Jordan clenched his right fist, showing his arrogance.He has never publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the annual MVP selection, but this ball, this punch, is his battle cry, his MVP declaration.

Pippen overcame a sore left foot to score 19 points on 11-of-27 shooting, nine rebounds, four blocks and three steals.Jackson said: "I think he really played a terrific game. He stepped up from the beginning of the game and led us forward, figuring out what he can do and what he can't do."

Best of all was the spell cast on Malone, which, obviously, Pippen could do.

(End of this chapter)