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Chapter 41: Pistons, round 2
THE EVOLUTION OF MICHAEL JORDAN INDEX
Last chapter: MJ rolls over the Knicks
The Rivalry
The Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls had one of the best rivalries in all of basketball in the late 80’s. Here is a little background on that rivalry.
The “Jordan Rules”
During Michael Jordan’s first playoff meeting with the Pistons in the 1987-88 season, the Pistons used a set of “Jordan Rules” to shut down the Chicago Bulls which relied mostly on Michael for its offense. Jordan was held to under 30 points per game for the series, which the Pistons won 4-1.
The series
The Detroit Pistons were the heavy favorite in this series. They had won 63 games that season, 16 more than the Bulls. However, now that Michael Jordan was playing as a point guard, he was in a good position to get his teammates more involved in the offense. It had worked against Cleveland and New York in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but would it work against the Detroit Pistons?
Shortly before game 1, Jordan predicted a victory in Detroit. He went out and scored 32 points and delivered on his promise with a 94-88 win. The Pistons fought back and won game 2 100-91, evening the series before heading to Chicago.
Michael’s best performance of the series came in game 3 where he scored 46 points. The Bulls were behind by 14 with 8 minutes remaining, but with Jordan leading the rally the Bulls battled back and won the game 99-97 on a clutch game winner by Jordan over Isiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman.
You can watch the entire game here.
The Bulls were now up 2-1 with one more game left in Chicago. However, the “Jordan Rules” proved effective once again as Jordan was held to 5-15 shooting and 23 points in game 4 and 4-8 shooting and 18 points in game 5, both Detroit victories.
Game 6 was in Chicago and the Bulls were looking to tie the series. Unfortunately Scottie Pippen took an elbow to the head from Bill Laimbeer and had to be sent to the hospital. Missing their all-star forward, the Bulls battled to within 2 points in the fourth quarter. But the Pistons and Isiah Thomas proved to be too strong and pulled away in the final minutes, winning the game 103-94. Jordan scored 32 points and had 13 assists in that game.
Game 6:
The Pistons once again eliminated the Bulls from the playoffs, and would go on to win their first NBA championship. Losing to the eventual champions was little consolation for Michael Jordan and the Bulls. Jordan had still not found a solution for defeating the Pistons, and that would become his focus for the next two years.
Next chapter: The Phil Jackson era
Chapter 40: MJ rolls over the Knicks
THE EVOLUTION OF MICHAEL JORDAN INDEX
Last chapter: Game 5 and “The Shot”
Meet the Knicks
This was the first meeting of Michael Jordan’s Bulls and the New York Knicks in the playoffs. Jordan, always one to play well under the spotlight, was looking to put on a show in the legendary Madison Square Garden.
Game 1
The Knicks came into the Eastern conference semifinals with a full head of steam. They had swept the 76’ers in the first round of the playoffs and held home court advantage against the Bulls. The Bulls on the other hand, had just played an exhausting five game series against Cleveland and only had one day of rest. How the two teams would play in game 1 would determine the tone for the rest of the series.
The Bulls did come out a little sluggish in game 1 and was behind by eight points late in the fourth quarter. But with Michael Jordan on the court, no lead was safe. Jordan, who had been rather quiet till this point, stepped up his game and tied the score. Mark Jackson had the ball for the last shot and forced up a long 3 which missed, allowing the game to go into overtime. In overtime, the Bulls again dominated and finished off the Knicks with a final score of 120-109. Michael finished with a triple double of 34 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds.
The Bulls stole home court advantage and were now in the driver’s seat.
Game 2
The Knicks bounced back in game 2 and kept Michael Jordan to his lowest scoring game of the season. Jordan scored only scored 15 points as the Knicks blew out the Bulls 114-97. The series was even at 1-1 as both teams headed to Chicago.
Game 3
The Bulls were re-energized as they played in front of the hometown crowd in game 3. Jordan led a run and gun game and looked unstoppable on his way to 40 points and a 111-88 victory over the Knicks. He barely missed a triple double by 1 assist.
Game 4
Jordan suffered a groin strain in game 3 and was resting at home when he heard New York Knicks coach Rick Pitino remark that Jordan might have been faking the injury. That small remark was enough to motivate Jordan to his best performance of the series in game 4. Jordan scored 47 points in another convincing win over the Knicks.
Game 5
The Knicks, facing elimination, had their best scoring game of the series and beat the Bulls 121-114.
Game 6
In a classic finish, Jordan scored 8 out of the last 10 points for the Bulls as the Bulls pulled off a close win 113-111.
Pistons, again
For the first time in his career, Michael Jordan led the Bulls into the Easter conference finals. But awaiting them were their long time rivals the Detroit Pistons, who had eliminated the Bulls from the playoffs the year before. The Pistons had created the “Jordan Rules” to shutdown Michael, which proved fairly successful at limiting Michael’s scoring. But now that Michael was playing as a point guard and distributing the ball, would the “Jordan Rules” still work?
Next chapter: Pistons, round 2
Chapter 39: Game 5 and “The Shot”
THE EVOLUTION OF MICHAEL JORDAN INDEX
Last chapter: Tight series vs. Cleveland
Defying the odds
No one thought Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls had a shot against the heavily favored Cleveland Cavaliers in first round of the 1989 NBA playoffs. But here they were, playing game 5 in Cleveland with a shot to win the series.
The series had been a back and forth affair. Chicago won game 1 mostly due to an injury to Cleveland’s Mark Price. Price came back in game 2 and helped the Cavs even the series. Another injury to Craig Ehlo hindered the Cavs in game 3, which allowed Chicago to take a 2-1 lead.
In a tightly contested game 4, Michael Jordan scored 50 points and gave the Bulls a chance to finish off the series late in the game. But Jordan missed 3 key free throws down the stretch which allowed the Cavs to send the game into overtime, where they defeated the Bulls and forced the deciding game 5.
Jordan was distraught over the loss and came to Cleveland determined to finish the series once and for all. But the Cavs would not give up so easily.
“The Shot”
This video summarizes the deciding game 5
You can watch the entire game here.
The Jordan highlights of game 5 including his post game interview
“The Shot” was Michael Jordan’s first playoff game winning shot, and it is still remembered as one of the greatest moments in NBA playoff history.
Just like Michael Jordan’s 1982 game winning shot against Georgetown in the NCAA finals, “The Shot” was another turning point in Michael Jordan’s career. Many people point to this exact moment as the start of the Bulls dynasty of the 90’s.
But before any talk of NBA titles and dynasties, the 1989 Chicago Bulls still had a long playoff road ahead of them. Next up, the New York Knicks.
Next chapter: MJ rolls over the Knicks
THE EVOLUTION OF MICHAEL JORDAN 