NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 62 The Last Dance (4)

Things changed after Jackson knocked.It all started with Jordan.Jordan turned on the superman mode, and his personal offense and defense were strengthened to the level of the playoffs, while promoting his teammates to achieve self-improvement.Throughout December, Jordan averaged 12 points and 28.4 rebounds per game, led the Bulls to 6.9 wins and 11 losses, and was elected the league's player of the month.Among his teammates, Rodman is the one who comforts him the most. "Dennis is our most valuable player this season," Jordan told the media. "Without Dennis, we simply wouldn't be here. I've never seen a teammate play so hard." Pippen absent, Rhodes Man vaguely has the meaning of the second in charge of the Bulls, and now he and Jordan join hands to lead the Bulls to face the world.In the first 3 games of the season, Rodman averaged 15 rebounds per game. In the next 12.5 games, he averaged 18 rebounds per game, including seven games with more than 18.4 individual rebounds.

The bulls are tough again and strong.Counting from the 1997th game of the season at the end of November 11 to January 16 before Pippen returned, the Bulls played a wave of 1998 wins and 1 losses, returning to the forefront of the Eastern Conference.In these 16 games, the Bulls were not good-looking, not elegant, and did not look like they were invincible in the past two seasons, but in any case, they can win.During this period of time, the Bulls relied more on defense, and their conceded points were the least among all teams in the league.Among them, on December 4, the Bulls returned to the United Center after playing seven consecutive away games. They defended the visiting Bucks to only 2 points, setting a record for the lowest point loss in a single game in team history.

There was a game in mid-December that attracted a lot of attention, because another "Jordan successor" appeared in the NBA and wanted to compete with Jordan himself. This time, the young man was named Kobe Bryant.Before Kobe, there were several young talents who had won the title of "Jordan's successor". Er, "Penny" Hardaway, Jerry Stackhouse, but these people either have limited talent, or the style of play is not like Jordan, in short, they have not received the widest recognition.Kobe is the second-year guard of the Lakers at this time. His physical condition, athletic talent, and offensive moves are all similar to Jordan, and even his speech and behavior in interviews are exactly the same as Jordan when he was young. Big gap, but he is only 12 years old after all.This season, Kobe did a great job as the team's sixth man. Because the Lakers' center O'Neal was injured and missed a lot of games in the first two months, Kobe got a lot of shots and once averaged 19 points per game. Substitute player with the most points.

On December 12, the Lakers are a guest in Chicago, facing Jordan, what can Kobe do?The media hyped up this battle, and Jordan's fighting spirit was also inspired. "Michael likes this kind of thing," Harper said. "(Kobe) is a very young player who may be on the throne one day, but I don't think Michael is ready to give up his throne. He will show everyone that he Still the Air Jordan."

The game ended with a 21-point victory for the Bulls, but sparks still sparked between Jordan and Kobe.Kobe scored 33 points, setting a new career scoring record, while Jordan scored 36 points, defending his dominance.Jordan actually wanted to show some restraint, saying, "Because of the hype, it's become a challenge, but it's also a 'don't get caught up in the hype' challenge, don't let it become me and Kobe one-on-one. There were a few times where I felt a bit like it, but I had to hold back, especially when he was scoring in front of me. I could feel, there was a natural drive in me, to go to the other side and score in front of him …But no. It takes a lot of discipline to not be led by the individual duels like this. You have to stick to the system, you have to think about the team first and try to do your thing.”

What Jordan finds interesting is that the Lakers were unwilling to double-team him from beginning to end, so he finally got enough singles opportunities, enough points, and the Bulls won the game.What surprised Jordan even more was that in the fourth quarter, the young Kobe even asked him for advice while defending. "He asked me about my post-up, and he was like, 'Do you step out between your legs a little bit, or do you squeeze in a little bit?' It kind of shocked me," Jordan said, "When he asked me that. At that time, I felt like an old man. I told him that on the offensive end, you always have to feel and know where the defender is. When posting up and turning around for jumpers, I always use my legs to sense where the defense is. I was able to react on defense."

The 34-year-old Jordan admitted that he marveled at the physical gift of the 19-year-old Kobe Bryant. "I asked Scottie Pippen: 'Did we jump like that? I don't even remember.' He said, 'I Think we did, but it was so long ago that I can't remember'".

Pippen was recovering physically and mentally by December.Jackson has been in touch with him, neither forcing him nor speaking for the management, but pointing out to him: the real victims will not be Klaus or Reinsdorf, only Pippen himself, and teammates them.At the end of the month, Pippen adjusted his mentality and decided to return to the team, but his foot had not fully recovered.Pippen's previous surgery had been successful, but when he started training alone, coaches and trainers were amazed to discover that the lack of exercise over the past four months had left his leg muscles so atrophied that he had lost about two-thirds of his body. vertical bounce.In this way, the recovery of Pippen's competitive state is more difficult than everyone imagined.From theoretically recovering from the foot injury to actually getting ready for the game, it took Pippen a few more weeks.

On January 1998, 1, when the Bulls played against the Warriors at home, Pippen returned to battle, and the audience at the United Center gave him warm applause.In that game, Pippen played 10 minutes, made only 31 of 11 shots, scored 4 points, and assisted 12 times. He said after the game: "I have no rhythm at all. I haven't played for so long, and my teammates don't know what I am. When it's going to shoot, when it's going to pass. Those things, they will come later."

In fact, it didn't take long for the Bulls' offense to become smooth because of Pippen's return.Pippen's official position is small forward, but he is the Bulls' de facto playmaker.Like the former "Magic" Johnson, Pippen can always use pass scheduling to make his teammates better. 76-year-old assistant coach Winter said: "In my opinion, sometimes - certainly not always - there are times when Michael is detrimental to his teammates. You don't see that much with Pippen. He is completely selfless. ...Michael should be selfish because he's such a good scorer. Michael is unrestricted. When he is in a position where he can score, Michael will think about scoring most of the time. And Scottie will be in many situations. Giving up opportunities like that in order to get teammates involved. That's what I call the 'playmaker' role."

With Pippen around, the rest of the Bulls knew where to stand and where to move, and the old confidence returned to them.In the first 11 games of Pippen's return, the Bulls played 9 wins and 2 losses, becoming the benchmark of the league again.

Now this Bulls, the more important the game, the better they perform. Of course, this also means that in some less important games, they are prone to lack of concentration.Winter is a pessimist. He always feels that his team has problems, is always worried, and is never satisfied. Players love to call him "Coach No" (no coach).There was a warm-up match before the season. The Bulls played against the young 76ers. The 76ers had talents such as Allen Iverson (Allen Iverson), Derrick Coleman (Derrick Coleman), and Jerry Stackhouse. Players, they played very well that day, and Winter was a little worried.

"Tex," Jackson urged, "they'll be lucky if they win 30 games."

"They're more talented than us, Phil," Winter said.

Jackson said: "Tex, what matters is not talent, what matters is tenacity and a common attitude. They will be lucky if they can win 30 games." In the end, the 76ers won 31 games this season.

"How many games do you think we could have won without Scotty?" Winter asked Jackson.

"60 games," Jackson replied, "as long as Scottie comes back to play for half a season." Jackson believes that if things go well, the Bulls can easily win 55 wins and have a chance to hit 60 wins.

Pippen's return brought new cohesion to the Bulls and eased Jordan's pressure, but the trouble wasn't isolated from them.As soon as Pippen returned to the team, Kerr suffered a broken collarbone and was out for 6 to 8 weeks.A week later, Rodman, who had been praised by Jordan, partyed all night at a strip club in New York and missed pre-match training. Jackson decided to suspend Rodman for one game and sent him directly from New Jersey to Chicago.Afterwards, Rodman told the media: "I think it's fair, and I think it's right for Phil to let me go home. I flew home alone, went directly to the training hall, and started practicing. I messed up. , that’s it, it’s that simple.”

Rodman played a dissonant role here and there, but Jackson let the rest of the team try to understand him.In fact, the other players and the coach reached a consensus: In order to launch the final impact on the championship, everyone has made great sacrifices. To win, we need Rodman.

On February 2, the day before the Bulls played against the Jazz, Krause suddenly decided to confide in Fred Mitchell, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.Klaus stressed that after this season, Jackson will not come back. "If Michael chooses to leave because he changed coaches, well, that's his choice, not ours," Krause said. Going out...we would love to have Michael back, but Michael has to play for someone else, not Phil."

Krauss insisted that Jackson was not driven out. "Phil agreed that this was his final year and he didn't want to go through a rebuild," Krause said. "Nobody pushed Phil out. It was a good decision that was made after careful consideration."

Klaus once again touched a nerve in the media.The next day, reporters awaited the players' counterattack in Salt Lake City.Jordan once again emphasized that if Phil leaves, he will leave too. "The management must make a decision on this, what do they want to do with this team, and which direction they choose to move forward."

That night, the Bulls once led by 24 points and were reversed by the Jazz. They lost both games against the Jazz in the regular season, which made them lose their home court advantage in the finals.After the game, the NBA entered the All-Star Weekend. The rest of the Bulls flew back to Chicago for vacation, and Jordan went to New York to participate in the All-Star Game.Since Pippen was absent for too long before, and Cole was unable to participate in the three-point contest due to injury, Jordan is the only All-Star representative of the Bulls this time.

Jordan caught a cold and almost slipped back to Chicago to recuperate, but more than 10 reporters from all over the world were waiting for him in New York, so he decided to take this opportunity to launch a counterattack against the "two Jerrys" of the Bulls.On Sunday afternoon, before the start of the All-Star Game, Jordan was interviewed by the media in the locker room and said a lot.As soon as he came up, he was asked where the team was, and Jordan said, "I can't see any light on the other side of the aisle at all. I think the front office took a stand, and I don't see how that's going to benefit me. "

In the subsequent interview, Jordan made it clear that Krause’s attitude was that of Reinsdorf, “If Jerry Reinsdorf didn’t know, Jerry Krause wouldn’t say that. Believe me” .

A reporter asked: Why are you so firm in your position?Jordan said: "You should ask them the same question. Why do you want to replace a coach who has won five championships, when he is both respected and understood by the players, why?"

That night, Jordan scored 23 points, sent 8 assists and grabbed 6 rebounds in the NBA All-Star Game. He led the East to a 135-114 victory and was elected the All-Star Game MVP for the third time in his career.When presenting the award, Stern said: "I will only award him the trophy if he promises to come back. The All-Star of the All-Star, the MVP, Michael Jordan."

Jordan once again showed his dominance of the sport, flanking Krause's claim that the Chicago Bulls needed to rebuild.Word of Jordan's All-Star break spread, and Reinsdorf quickly issued a statement calling for an end to premature discussions about the team's future.There were rumors inside the Bulls that Leinsdorf was angry with Klaus because of this incident, and Klaus was very embarrassed.

After the All-Star break, the Bulls management made a deal to send backup power forward Jason Caffey to the Warriors in exchange for a third-rate player named David Vaughn and two No. Second round pick.This move is incomprehensible on paper, especially for a team with title aspirations.Caffey is 6-foot-8 (2.03 meters), an excellent rebounder, and despite other flaws, the athleticism the Bulls need inside.Some people inside feel that Krause is deliberately weakening the team by doing this, so that the Bulls cannot win the championship, so that they can start rebuilding.

Jordan was furious. He told reporters: "Losing Caffey is like losing a family member."A reporter asked Cole: Does it look like the management has set up another obstacle for the team to prevent you from winning the championship?Cole smiled: "It's a good way to put barriers. We are all a little frustrated, and we feel that it hurts our depth... They have their reasons for doing things. Between the players and the management, there is no very good one. comminicate."

Krause doesn't like Caffey for a number of reasons, one of which is: Caffey is about to become a free agent, and his agent is Pippen's agent, Jimmy Sexton, Krause and Sykes Dun has long been disgusted with each other.

Surprisingly, Jackson didn't seem to mind losing Caffey either.While the assistant coaches desperately lobbied Krause to keep Caffey, Jackson just quietly agreed to the deal.Jackson knew that Klaus would never renew his contract with Caffey. He hoped that the management would find a player like Brian Williams back while sending Caffey away.Caffey is neither tall nor strong enough in the paint, and he is at a disadvantage against Karl Malone, Sean Kemp and others.Jackson wanted a power forward who could top center, he admitted privately: "I told them that's what I wanted. We wanted a Brian Williams-type player. I've always had that center in my hands, Stacey King and Scott Williams."

Of course, there was no Brian Williams to pick in 1998, so Jackson suggested that a "Dickie Simpkins type" player would do.Simpkins is a veteran of the Bulls and was sent to the Warriors for Blair before the start of the season.Soon, the Warriors gave up Simpkins tacitly, and the Bulls gave up David Vaughn a few days later and asked Simpkins back.

Later, Jackson explained that he felt that the Caffey deal would increase Rodman's responsibility.In the past, as long as Kafei was around, Rodman would have a competent rebounding substitute, so he had the courage to do anything wrong; now that Kafei is gone, Rodman knows that his every move is of great importance, and he may treat himself a little bit before doing anything wrong. Add constraints.

Caffey's deal deepened the conflict between Klaus and Jackson.Krause believes that Jackson should have explained to the players on behalf of the management, but Jackson did not do that. Instead, everyone guessed that Krause was deliberately sabotaging the team. "Phil was supposed to take care of the team, and he didn't," Krause said. "He should have explained to the players, but he made me the bad guy again."

(End of this chapter)