NBA Archives Debunked: The Jordan Saga

Chapter 64 King's Landing (2)

Others apparently agreed with Byrd's assessment.Before the second game, the 35-year-old Jordan received his fifth annual MVP trophy, which also made him the oldest annual MVP winner in NBA history. "Getting this award at this age means it's the right choice for me to continue playing because I can still play at the highest level," Jordan said.

After winning the award, Jordan must prove himself in the subsequent games. He told reporters: "I have always said that it is extra pressure to get this kind of trophy. At certain times, you can't live up to it. It's the same tonight , I feel the pressure, I have to go on stage to prove that you voted correctly."

The Pacers dominated the Bulls on the road for most of Game 7, leading by seven points at halftime.But in the third quarter, Jordan made frequent fouls and went to the free throw line, scoring 10 points on 8 of 14 free throws in a single quarter. Instead, the Bulls entered the fourth quarter with a 4-point advantage.

In the final quarter, the two sides kept biting tightly, and no one could get rid of the other.At 2 minutes and 34 seconds before the end of the game, Jordan succeeded in hitting Miller with a low back, and the Bulls led 98 to 91 by 7 points. It seemed safe, but in less than half a minute, the Pacers scored two goals in a row, and the point difference returned to 3 points .In the next round, Jordan dribbled and slipped, but fortunately he didn't lose the ball. He got up, continued to kill from the middle, and finally ended with a mid-range jumper. Into the center of the net, 10 0 to 95.About 1 minute before the end of the game, Jordan hit an emergency stop near the baseline and a mid-range fallback. 102 to 95, the Bulls established the victory and survived the Pacers' counterattack.

The Bulls won 104-98 for a 2-0 lead overall.Jordan made 22 of 13 shots and scored 41 points. "Yeah, Michael hit a lot of tough shots -- well, tough ones for other people," Bird said. "He's the reason they win, there's no question about that."

Rick Carlisle was one of Bird's two assistant coaches, and he formulated a lot of defensive details to deal with Jordan."When Michael catches the ball, puts his weight down, and looks you in the eye, you know something's going to happen," Carlisle said. "The only good thing that could happen next is he misses the shot, or (teammates) don't catch it well. The way he passes the ball. When he looks into my eyes, I try to look at his stomach, which is the only part of him that doesn't move."

Jordan was not complacent, but said worriedly: "This is very dangerous. We are now too dependent on individual talent. Before, we always let the system work, let the rhythm of our offense work, and now, we are in a certain way. Can't find the rhythm."

Bird appreciated Jordan, but he was more eager to express his dissatisfaction with the referees.Bird decided that when Pippen defended Mark Jackson, he got too much attention from the referees.

"You know what I want to see?" Bird said, "I want to see Scottie Pippen defend Michael Jordan the way Scottie defended Mark Jackson and see how long he can stay on the court." ...It will be very interesting to watch Scotty guard Michael, see how long he can last, that's why he should stay in Chicago. I tell my players, this series, the referee will not turn to you, you have to live with it point."

The media relayed Bird's words to Jordan, and Jordan smiled slightly: "Did Larry say that? Well, now he really sounds like a coach." Jordan is reminding everyone that Bird was playing by himself. At that time, the referee also gave him a lot of superstar treatment.Jordan also responded positively to Bird's vision, saying: "Scottie and I also confronted each other in training, and he was not blown."

In any case, judging from the results, Bird's protest affected the referee's call.After moving to Indiana, in the third game, Pippen received two fouls in less than 9 minutes, at least one of which was very controversial.In this way, Pippen had to restrain himself more in the following games, the Pacers' offensive quality improved and their turnovers dropped sharply.

In addition, Bird adjusted his rotation to give young Jalen Rose and Travis Best more playing time.Bird realized that facing the faster Bulls, the two veterans—Mark Jackson and Mullin—really had limitations, and the Bulls suffered from a speedy guard throughout the season, so Best and Rose were reused. become logical.The young substitute repaid Bird's trust. Rose scored 15 points and 6 assists. Best contributed 11 points and 4 assists. The Pacers had a 43-25 advantage in scoring from the bench.They narrowly won 107-105, with a total score of 1-2.

In Game 33.5, it was Phil Jackson's turn to whine and blame the referees.[-] seconds before the end of the game, Best made a breakthrough, and the Pacers caught up to one point. In the subsequent offensive round of the Bulls, the referee called Rodman an unwarranted screen foul.The Bulls coaching staff was extremely angry, because the Pacers' big man had been using the same screen to help Miller get rid of the defense throughout the game, and the first screen foul called by the referee was actually called to Rhodes at such a critical moment. Man.

The ball returned to the Pacers, and the Bulls still took the lead.With 6.4 seconds left, Jordan blocked Derrick McKey's corner three-pointer.The Pacers sent the ball out of bounds and was intercepted by the Bulls.4.7 seconds before the end, Pippen stood at the free throw line.Until this moment, the balance of victory is still in favor of the Bulls.

However, Pippen missed both free throws, the rebound went out of bounds, and the ball was awarded to the Pacers. The situation changed quietly.In the last 2.9 seconds, Carlisle designed a perfect tactic for Miller.Miller started from the bottom line and ran to the top of the arc, used the screen to shake off Harper, pushed Jordan away with both hands, received the ball outside the right-wing three-point line, and shot immediately without pausing.The Bulls coach yelled from the sidelines that the referee should call Miller an offensive foul, but the entire arena was already jubilant—the goal was scored.Indiana fans chanted Miller's name in unison: "Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!" 96 to 94, the Pacers lead.

0.7 seconds left for Jordan to execute the counter-lore. Jordan's three-pointer hit the rebound, bounced to the front of the basket, swiped again, and finally fell out. The Bulls lost the second consecutive game.Phil Jackson said after the game: "There were too many controversial calls at the end of the game, but Reggie still had to make that goal after all."

Phil blasted the referees on duty, drawing an analogy between them and the referees in the 1972 Olympic men's basketball final. In 1972, the US men's basketball team lost the Olympic gold medal, which was completely manipulated by the referees. This has long been notorious in the United States.

Back in Chicago in Game 20, the Bulls responded with a nearly 8.5-point victory, but in Game 9 they went to Indiana, and they still couldn't change the result that the Pacers could win by a narrow margin.The dramatic scene this time is: In the last 2 seconds, the Bulls trailed by two points. Jordan received the ball from the left wing and broke through, but fell near the free throw line and lost the ball.The referee didn't blow the whistle, but Jordan said after the game: "The last ball was an obvious foul. People may think I'm messing with my feet, but I'm not that stupid." 8 9 to 3 [-], the Pacers tied the total score [-] levels.

As Phil Jackson later said, it was the toughest series of the Bulls championship era.

Many people in the outside world have no confidence in the Bulls and feel that they are old and their era is over, but Jordan said it well: "If we sit here and worry about what others think of us, then we have no chance (to win). They Got through Chicago. Utah, Indiana, they got through Chicago."

Jordan also promised in a firm tone: "We will win the seventh game."

The Pacers did not show weakness. Backup forward Antonio Davis (Antonio Davis) said: "All the teams are a little tired of what Chicago is doing. They beat too many people and troubled too many people, so I dare For sure, there are a lot of teams who want to see them fail."

In the tie-break, home court advantage becomes the key.Since 1996, the Bulls are 27-2 at home in the playoffs.At the United Center, they rarely let Chicago down.

The Pacers were indeed a formidable opponent, and they gained an early 13-point advantage, forcing Phil Jackson to change his regular rotation for this series.In order to strengthen the offense, Phil reused Cole and Buchler. As a result, the two substitutes played an important role. Cole scored 11 points and Buchler grabbed 5 rebounds.At halftime, the Bulls led 48-45.

In the third quarter, Jordan's offense continued to slump. Fortunately, Kukoc broke out in a timely manner and scored 5 points on all 14 shots in a single quarter, including 3 three-pointers.In the game, Kukoc made 11 of 7 shots and scored 21 points.

Jordan's fatigue is directly reflected in his shooting: On this day, he made 25 of 9 shots, and his shooting percentage was only 36%. He even missed 5 free throws and only made 15 of 10 free throws.In the fourth quarter, when Jordan returned to the court, he still couldn't find the touch, but he knew that physical fitness can affect jump shots, but it can't affect breakthroughs.He started hitting the basket again and again, killing opponents and drawing fouls.In the last quarter, he scored 5 points at the free throw line alone. "His jump shot didn't work, but his free throws worked," Bird said after the game. "He put his head down into the crowd and drew fouls."

The Pacers' defensive plan was set by assistant coach Dick Hart. He asked the players to consume Jordan as much as possible, not only to prevent him from scoring, but also to make him physically exhausted and his legs and feet unable to control.These, Phil Jackson sees in the eye.Phil saw that Jordan was exhausted and out of breath, but he also saw Jordan's determination to hate failure and refuse to fail.During a timeout, the Bulls huddled together, and Jordan yelled at his teammates: "We will not lose this game!" This is no longer a physical duel or talent duel, but an inner duel. decisive battle.

Later, Phil Jackson used the footage from the last half of the tiebreaker to edit a video to prepare for the finals. His intention was: We will still face the same physical problems, but all of us should see it , How strong willpower our ace player has.

The Bulls held on and finally won 88-83, beating the Pacers 4-3 overall and becoming the Eastern Conference champion for the third consecutive year. "This series and this game is a test of our willpower to determine whether we still have a championship level," Jackson said. "Tonight, we can respond to that in a positive way."

The difficulty of the process will inevitably arouse suspicion from the outside world. "I'm pretty sure people will say that some of the panache (of the championship) is gone," Jordan said. "Maybe. But so far, nobody's taken anything away from us."

In this difficult game, Jordan still contributed 28 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists."That's why he's the best player in the league and probably the greatest player of all time," Bird praised.

The Bulls and Pacers fought fiercely in the East, but the Jazz swept the Lakers early in the West. In the 1998 Finals, the Chicago Bulls still played against the Utah Jazz, but this time the home court advantage was in the hands of the Jazz.Considering this, and the fact that the Bulls played so hard in the Eastern Conference finals, many experts are more optimistic about the Jazz, thinking that they can win the Bulls this time.Hearing this, Jordan was full of pride and said: "We are not favored, but we are still champions."

Before the finals, the Jazz rested for ten days, waiting for work. "Of course, physically we may be a little tired," Jordan said, "but we still have a heart, and our heart is not tired. We haven't lost in the finals, which is a great confidence."

Playing the series against the Jazz for the second consecutive year, the Bulls coaching staff treats this opponent a little differently from ordinary people.They know that Karl Malone is one of the best big men in the league, but they also know that Malone was not such a good shooter at first. .The Bulls' coaches believe that Malone does not have a pitcher's soul deep in his heart. At the critical moment of a major game, especially when his hand is not going well, he will not always be as confident as Bird, Jordan, and Miller. Take a shot, and always believe that you can make the next shot.

For Malone, the Bulls have formulated a defensive strategy: do everything possible to defend against one, and resolutely not double-team.They tend to let Malone get the points he deserves, thirty or forty points are fine, but they have to make his teammates feel uncomfortable.The Bulls coaching staff believed that the most frightening moment for the Jazz was when Malone went straight and the opponent had no choice but to start double-teaming him. As a result, Malone used the pass to let his teammates blend in, and the Jazz blossomed inside and out-the Bulls didn't want to see this situation.

Arriving in Salt Lake City, Phil Jackson hoped his team would steal Game 12, but just coming off the Eastern Conference finals, the Bulls looked tired and slow.In the fourth quarter, the Bulls raised their defensive intensity and only allowed the Jazz to score 36 points, but they entered overtime, and their fuel tank was really empty.The Jazz's 5-year-old Stockton had enough energy. He scored 24 of his 7 points in 88 minutes of overtime, leading the Jazz to an 85-46 victory.Jordan fought hard for 33 minutes and scored [-] points, which still fell short.

In Game 18, the Bulls were far more aggressive than Game 16. They kept attacking the basket and the team grabbed 5 offensive rebounds.The Bulls' thinking is very clear: use defense to drag the opponent, save energy, bite the score, let Malone shoot the basket he should shoot, wait until the end of the game, and then let Jordan solve the problem.In this battle, Ma Long scored 16 points on 33 of 14 shots and missed a field goal throughout the second half.On the other hand, Jordan made 37 of 13 shots and scored [-] points. The shooting percentage was not high, but the [-] points in the last quarter were crucial.

What's more, during the game break, Jordan was calm and could still laugh.He'd pat his teammates on the back to encourage them and look confident.If some of his demeanor had disappeared a few days ago, now they are all back. "You don't become five-time champions without some sort of mental edge," Jordan explained. "We're mentally strong and confident in what we want to accomplish."

One minute before the end, the Bulls were still behind 1 to 85. The team shrank their defense and forced Stockton to make a pass error.Cole took the ball to the frontcourt and shot a chasing three-pointer, but he missed it. Cole grabbed the rebound in the chaos.Cole patted the ball and stuffed it to Jordan at the bottom of the basket. Jordan jumped in and caused a foul.86 seconds before the end, the Bulls went ahead by two points, 47.8 to 88.

Cole laughed at himself that the key offensive rebound he grabbed was "just a bad luck", but Jordan didn't think so.Jordan felt that was a "real desire," something they had to do during that time -- and they did, and the Jazz didn't.

After the Jazz's offensive round, Malone had a chance to tie the score, but he missed the mid-range shot just as the Bulls coaching staff expected. 93 to 88, the Bulls won in Salt Lake City.

(End of this chapter)